Faute de Mieux
by butterfly.bones
Summary: -AU- This could be considered a twist of fate, she decided, because in any other situation there would be no chance in heaven, hell or limbo she could ever even *imagine* being engaged to someone as gorgeous and pedigreed as Uchiha Sasuke.-SasuSaku-
1. The Only Difference

**.-.-.-.**

**THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARTYRDOM AND SUICIDE IS PRESS COVERAGE**

**.-.-.-.**

"She's done WHAT?"

The messenger cringed beneath his mask as Yamanaka Tenten twirled the kunai knife around her finger faster and faster in her fury. The First Princess of Mizu was not known for patience, virtue or not. She had a quick temper and an even quicker throw, and said messenger knew this.

"Ten--Tenten-sama?"

She didn't move, and that kunai looked like it was going to fly off her index finger any second. Sadly, he was in no position to dodge.

"Tenten-sama..."

"Shut up," she snapped angrily. "Go get my father."

"Ye-yes, Tenten-sama!"

He darted off without another word. Staying around Tenten any longer might just cost him his eye; that is, if he was lucky.

As he dashed from her quarters, a loud crashing sound was heard. The messenger cringed again, before racing off, attempting to put as much distance between himself and the raging royal as quickly as possible.

**.-.-.-.**

King Yamanaka Inoichi of Mizu sighed and put a hand to his forehead as his elder daughter stomped around the room, raging, shouting, and breaking things that were so blatantly expensive that he _almost_ felt compelled to stop her. (King Inoichi was not a stupid man, no matter what the press said about him. He also very much liked all his limbs.)

"Tenten."

"Tou-san, I'm not going! I'm not going, I'm not going, I am _not_ going!!"

"I didn't say you had to go--"

"Ridiculous girl! How _dare_ she not tell me?! I'm her sister! Her SISTER!!"

"Tenten, I am fully aware that Ino is your sister--"

"She deserted me! She abandoned me! She left me to _rot_ here while she goes gallivanting off with that lazy ass _moron_ of a captain who probably doesn't even feel anything for her! She's a fool! A FOOL!!"

"Nara-taichou is a very skilled and virtuous young man, Tenten, I'm sure--"

"SHUT UP, TOU-SAN!! I'm not DONE!!"

Tenten turned angrily, eyes snapping as she shrieked, the throbbing veins in her forehead dangerously close to popping.

"Eh..."

Inoichi gave up. He sat himself down in the armchair beside his daughter's desk and attempted to wait the rant out, trying at the same time to solve at the massive stinking diplomatic blowup staring him right in the face.

His younger daughter, Ino, had been engaged to be married to the younger prince of Honoo, Uchiha Sasuke. She had been chosen because a) Tenten was a year older than the young man, b) Tenten had attempted to abdicate her position as ruler of Honoo the second she turned sixteen, and c) to put it frankly, Tenten's thick chestnut hair and chocolate eyes inherited from her mother were no match for the golden locks and sparkling blue orbs that Ino got from him. And now, suddenly, he had found out that Ino had absolutely no interest in even meeting the prince. And instead of coming to him and trusting him to find another solution, she had gone and run off with one of his best ANBU squadron captains, Nara Shikamaru.

Worst still, the marriage was the only thing preventing a war between their small nation and the rich, allied countries of Suna and Honoo, whose queens were sisters. The only thing saving them was the offer of Ino, and a joint rule of Honoo and Mizu, which in the first place was something utterly unthought-of.

He wondered how many ninja they would have to sacrifice before they surrendered.

He wondered if there was any way he could find someone of his blood to marry off before the end of the week.

He wondered when Tenten would stop screeching so he could go through his family tree properly.

"I'm not going! I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going!!"

Aaaannnd we're back. He rubbed his temples and prepared his lungs.

"TENTEN!!"

The brunette paused mid-smashing a porcelain vase and turned to look at her father with an annoyed look on her face.

"_What_, tou-san?"

"You don't have to go. You CAN'T go. They don't want you."

She blinked.

"Oh."

"So get your ANBU team into the library and help me find a replacement for Ino."

"Hai."

"And you're going to pay for all this."

Tenten looked around the room as Inoichi calmly and quickly left her quarters.

Silence.

Silence.

"NANI!?"

**.-.-.-.**

Haruno Sakura woke up to the sound of voices coming from her parents' quarters. She got up immediately.

Visitors were uncommon; _nobody_ came to the manor on their duchy. The tenants of their land took orders from the lords, who took orders from the duke, who took orders from her father, who never received visitors at the manor.

Dressing in a red cheongsam robe and pinning her slightly curled, bed-head hair from her face with a few pins, she rapidly splashed water on her face, brushed her teeth, and removed all signs of sleep from her eyes. Then, fixing her general appearance so she didn't look like she just rolled out of bed ten minutes ago (which, of course, she had), she raced towards the largest set of rooms in the manor.

She stopped by the door, hiding herself behind the dark green curtains that hung as a second entrance behind the doors. Her mother and a blond man were talking quietly on the balcony.

Her mother's pale face was determined, rust-colored eyebrows scrunched together in frustration. Her flaming red curls were scooped up and placed to cascade on the top of her head, and the simple white dress she wore rippled a little in the light wind of morning. Her blue eyes were angry, matching the pleading ones of the man next to her.

He had long hair as well, straight and molten yellow and tied in a topknot high on the back of his head. He dressed simply, black pants and a loose navy shift tied at the waist. A long dark gi was worn over it, and he would have looked quite common but for the blue sapphire he wore on a silver chain, and the regal way he carried himself. His large hands clutched at the silver rail of the balcony, knuckles tight and white. He was arguing something forcefully, and, from what Sakura could see, her mother was steadfastly refusing whatever he was offering.

Quietly, Sakura slipped from her hiding place to dart quickly behind the dresser, then underneath the desk beside the doors of the balcony.

"--not have my daughter treated like a mere replacement for yours, Inoichi!"

The blond man shook his head furiously.

"Nadeshiko, you don't understand. We are on the brink of war!"

"No! Find someone else. What about the older one? Tenten?"

"She won't do. She's at least a year older than the Uchiha boy."

"I cannot let you have my child like this. You, her uncle, should understand!"

Sakura buried her face in her knees. Her uncle? This man was her uncle?

Her uncle wanted to sell her away?

She leaned towards the doors as far as possible without falling over or revealing herself.

"Nadeshiko, listen to reason. She would be well cared for. He's a prince! You know how powerful the Uchiha are. If Ino had not decided to abandon us so suddenly, I would be glad to know she was there."

"Nii-san, please." Nadeshiko's big blue eyes widened, and her uncle faltered. "She's my little girl. She's my only child. My baby. You can't make me do this, even for the sake of the country. She's so young, she's never even met him."

Inoichi shook his head again.

"She's seventeen, Nadeshiko. That's old enough to choose for herself."

Nadeshiko sighed.

"Then let her choose for herself, nii-san."

Sakura choked and fell. There was a dull thudding noise, and she squeezed her eyes shut as both adults whirled around on her.

"Sakura!"

Her mother walked towards her as Sakura picked herself up. She looked ready to reprimand her for eavesdropping, but the blond man put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped, and her eyes softened.

"Sakura," she said gently, "There's a matter I have to discuss with you. This is your uncle, Inoichi. He wants to take you away."

**.-.-.-.**

Inoichi explained the situation as calmly as possible. But as the words came out of his mouth, he found it harder and harder to try and force his niece, his sister's baby girl, to agree. It was like he just realized he had lost his own daughter that morning.

Sakura, however, remained passive, with a few nods every few minutes.

"I remember Ino-chan," she said when he finished, "She was really nice."

Her mother produced a faint smile that wavered.

"What do you say, Sakura?"

Sakura was silent as she contemplated the issue. When she didn't speak for several minutes, Inoichi stood up.

"Forget it, Sakura-chan. I'll find someone else." He turned to leave, and smiled at Nadeshiko. "Thank you for permitting her to consider this. I'm sorry for not visiting you for so long."

Nadeshiko cocked her head and smiled sadly.

"I am terribly sorry, Inoichi. If there's anything else I can do--"

"I'll go."

Both, again, whirled on the pink-haired girl. Nadeshiko's face twisted in despair, and she wrung her hands desperately as she moved to stand before her child.

"Sakura...you don't have to, you know, honey? No one's trying to make you go."

Sakura smiled.

"I know, mama. But I think it's time I went places, you know?"

Nadeshiko's attempted smile faded completely as her eyes began tearing.

"We can take you places, too, darling."

"I know," Sakura replied simply. Nadeshiko shook her head, the flaming curls whipping behind her and almost smacking Inoichi across the face.

"Sweetie, you're going to be married."

"I know," Sakura replied simply, "But, mama, you know that you and papa can't shelter me forever."

There was silence as Sakura's mother put her face in her hands and began to sob. Inoichi reached forward to hug his sister. Sakura turned to him.

"I'm ready, uncle," she said with a dazzling grin.

Inoichi smiled.

**.-.-.-.**

Barely an hour later, the newspapers began to run like mad. The headlines were big and bold; the paperboys screeching with all their might.

"Princess Sakura returns!"

"Princess Sakura resurfaces!"

"Princess Sakura engaged!"

At her window, Tenten turned away and buried her face in her knees.

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_Click that pretty button down there and REVIEW!!_

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GLOSSARY**

Honoo : Fire. I'm not using Konoha, because Ino and Sakura and Sasuke are all from Konoha, and I need them in two different countries. This is the country the Uchiha rule, because if Sasuke can use his awesome little fire tricks, he _has _to be in Honoo.

Mizu : Water. This is the country the Yamanaka rule.

Suna : Sand. This is the country Gaara rules.

gi – a sort of Japanese overcoat

**FUTURE CHAPTERS**

Haku : White. This is the country the Hyuuga rule.

Kusa : Grass. This is the country Naruto (will) rule(s).

Oto : Sound. This is the country Orochimaru rules.

**CHARACTER GUIDE (Ch 1) –** _in order of appearance or mention_

Yamanaka Tenten – First Princess of Mizu

Yamanaka Inoichi – King/Kage of Mizu

Yamanaka Ino – Second Princess of Mizu

Uchiha Sasuke – Second Prince of Honoo

Haruno Sakura – Niece to Inoichi

Haruno Nadeshiko – Sister to Inoichi

**FAMILY RELATIONS (current)**

Yamanakas

Yamanaka Inoshi and Konohagure Midori had Inoichi and Nadeshiko.

Yamanaka Inoichi marries Toudou Amara and has Tenten. Two years later, they have Ino.

Yamanaka Nadeshiko marries Haruno Ryoma two years after Inoichi married Amara, a lord. She becomes Haruno Nadeshiko and has Sakura a year later.

Uchihas (and the Suna)

Uchiha Fugaku marries Yumida Mikoto and has Itachi. A year later they have a girl, Sakura, but she dies at age five. Two years after the birth of Uchiha Sakura, they have Sasuke. So Uchiha Sakura died when Sasuke was three.

Yumida Mikoto is the sister of Yumida Hikaru, who marries the Fourth Kazekage, Sabaku no Zabato. They have Temari. One year later, they have Kankurou, and two years after that, they have Gaara. Hikaru dies in childbirth, and Zabato's brother, Yashamaru, takes care of them.

**AGES (all)**

Tenten - 19

Ino - 17

Sakura - 17

Sasuke - 18

Itachi - 21

Temari - 20

Kankuro - 19

Gaara - 17

Neji - 19

Hinata - 17

Hanabi - 12

Naruto - 18

Kiba – 20

Lee - 20

Shino - 19


	2. Many Different Shards of Sanity

_The new title,_ Faute de Mieux_, basically means "for lack of something better". As my wonderful beta -Out-of-Inspiration- would tell you, I am _totally_ UNSATISFIED with the old title,_ Fair Play_. So there. Enjoy For_ Lack of Something Better_, Chapter 2._

**.-.-.-.**

**Many Different Shards of Sanity Scattered in A Million Directions**

**.-.-.-.**

Sakura could swear she just spend the day being screeched at by large, imposing ladies in pinstriped dresses. She seriously couldn't believe there was this much to being a princess. In the storybooks she read as a child, all they had to do was sit around all pretty and wait for a Prince Charming. So why the fuck did _she_ have to learn the country political history, its allies and current stances on world issues? Why was _she_ the only one being yelled at to sit up straight, to not leave a curl of hair on the right side, but on the left, to never stare, to not tilt when standing, to not move her head, and being laughed at when she couldn't tell a salad fork from any other fork? Or a soup spoon from a broth spoon? What was the freaking _difference_? Why couldn't they just use the _same goddamn utensil_?!

Fueling her anger was the fact that she hadn't seen a trace of the Great and Terrible Tenten-sama anywhere _near_ the stupid hell-sent lessons she was forced to sit through. She heaved an extremely annoyed huff as she plopped down onto her bed, pulling off her stockings and trying to loosen the strings on her godforsaken corset. _Granted,_ she mused as she strugged, _Tenten probably had her whole life to learn all this shit, and she's probably madly busy helping the King sift through the complications caused by Ino's disappearance, but couldn't she have the decency and empathy to just _visit_?_

As if on cue, another stuffed shirt knocked on her door and, not bothering to wait for her response through the door as she remembered he properly should, entered. Sakura leapt up at the chance to reprimand him, as she had been reprimanded all day, but before she could, he cleared his throat and announced: "Her Highness Tenten-hime, First Princess of our Nation of Mizu, commands the presence of Haruno Sakura, temporary Second Princess." He then snapped the parchment shut and stared at her pointedly with his black-brown eyes.

She blinked for a few seconds as the man waited patiently. Sakura remembered the words the Manners Mistress taught her that morning, straightened, waved her hand delicately, and said in a commanding, careless voice, "Send her in."

But instead of the desired effect of bowing and scraping, the messenger snorted. Sakura blinked in confusion, her annoyed mood immediately replaced by worry.

"What? What did I do wrong?"

The messenger, taking pity on her, calmly explained through stifled snorts that she, as Second Princess, and albeit a replacement for Ino, had no right to make Tenten go to _her_ rooms, and must in her position trek to Tenten's chambers at such summons.

Sakura blushed several shades of pink and proceeded to move to the door. The messenger stopped her, and then again kindly explained that she had half an hour to show up, and should not be introduced to Her Royal Highness wearing a mere slip. He called for her ladies-in-waiting, who immediately ran to her newly overstocked wardrobe, picked out a pale green robe and threw it on over her thin white underskirt as the pink-haired girl flailed around in embarrasment. The messenger bowed out politely, before telling her he would be waiting outside and shutting the door.

Immediately, the two girls, Ayame and Kikumo, dove inside her wardrobe. Sakura stared in bewilderment as they flew around trying to find a proper kimono for her to wear. Eventually they surfaced with one and proceeded then to shove her in it as quickly as possibly, explaining apologetically that it is impolite to keep Her Highness waiting. They then proceeded to screw with her hair.

Ten minutes later, Sakura found herself kicked out of her rooms by her hyper ladies-in-waiting. Her kimono was golden, with a molten yellow pattern on it, and an emerald obi. The pale green robe was placed over it, arranged so that the sleeves of the robe ended before the sleeves of the kimono, and the body lay flat against the silk of the Japanese gown. On her feet was a pair of straw-woven sandals. Her hair was pulled into a chignon, and thin silver necklace with a jade pendant lay on her chest.

The messenger whistled when he saw her.

"If I may say so, Your Highness, you clean up pretty good."

Sakura blushed.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba, Her Highness's right-hand man. Right this way, little lady."

Sakura followed Kiba tentatively. He kept up a steady flow of random, cheerful conversation that stemmed her nervousness a little. He was bawdy and loud, but everyone they passed seemed used to it -- even Manners Mistress didn't blanch when he snorted as he spoke to Sakura in the halls. When he suddenly stopped, she started, before seeing a pair of large, foreboding oak doors. Unconciously, Sakura swallowed.

Seeing her nervousness, Kiba grinned. "Don't worry," he told her, "Tenten doesn't bite." He paused, then added, "Most of the time."

Before Sakura could scream and run away, Kiba knocked sharply, thrice. The sound echoed through the wood as he, unlike with her, politely waited for Tenten permit his entrance.

Instead of the soft, delicate, welcome voice she was expecting, the doors were unceremoniously wrenched open. A pair of chocolate eyes glared angrily as the owner snarled, "What, you mangy bastard?"

Kiba grinned, and it was clear why. The tall girl's long chestnut hair was wet, down to her knees and dripping like a waterfall. The only thing she had on was a large white towel wrapped around her body. Sakura flushed in embarrassment. Clearly, this girl had just stepped out of the shower to open her lady's doors.

"Don't be like that, Ten. I brought you a present."

Sakura stared at the girl.

_This_ was Tenten? _The_ Tenten?! She looked _nothing_ like Inoichi, or Ino. Her hair was thick and dark and wavy, unlike the sleek blonde tresses of her sibling, and her eyes were a deep cocoa color, far from the sparkling blue orbs that Ino possessed.

"Shut up, you ass. Go away and leave me alone. I've had a long day and _fifty feet_ of paperwork to go through before the hour's up, so scram and tell 'tou-san I am not, _not, NOT_ paying for all that crap!"

Sakura had no idea what she was talking about, but Kiba clearly did, and he snorted disdainfully. "No, can't. Here's the girl you sent for."

Tenten was silent for a moment, before she formed a little "Oh," and invited them both in. She muttered with Kiba for a moment; something about "_half a goddamn hour, it's supposed to be!_" She then directed Kiba away to the room he had adjoined to hers, before going into her bedroom and calling her lady-in-waiting, the image of Kiba, only older, who dressed her in a white silk robe, dried her hair and braided the long, dark locks. Finally Tenten remembered Sakura, who was still standing awkwardly in the alcove near the entrance, and sat her down on an auburn chaise lounge, before seating herself on the reddish brown four-poster bed and crossing her arms, scrutinizing Sakura.

Said girl took the time to take in the main room of Tenten's chambers. The bedroom was in shades of autumn, with large gold bay windows, an oak bedside table, and a fluffy tangerine carpet.

Many plush seats were scattered around the room in various shades of yellow, most accompanied by little wooden bookshelves in honey brown. Against every wall was a barricade of dark oak bookshelves holding thousands of leather-bound books. The room held a warm tone, unlike the reception area outside. Out there, Sakura remembered seeing long, curving white sofas, glass coffee tables, and chrome lamps, along with white fur rugs. The outer room gave a feel of detachment, noncommittal, and impersonal. The bedroom was comfortable and homey.

A voice cut into her contemplations.

"So."

Sakura looked up. The older girl's eyes held an unreadable expression.

"So," Tenten repeated. "You're the one."

Sakura nodded uncomfortably. Tenten didn't seem friendly, but she wasn't openly hostile, either. She didn't know how to act around her, and that made her uneasy.

"So. What would you like to know about Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura blinked at the sudden question. She had expected an interrogation, perhaps a scolding, maybe being told she wasn't good enough, like she had been all day. Instead, she found herself staring, dumbfounded, into a pair of warm chocolate eyes. Suddenly, she recognized that Tenten was only trying to help her, help the girl who was stealing her sister's fiancé, however unwanted, help her to know the man behind the big name six days before she's shipped off.

She wanted to help the girl whose mother had shamed her family by running off and marrying some random stranger. The girl who was strung into a marriage that wasn't even supposed to be her own.

Tenten was being the big sister for her. Sakura felt like she was going to cry.

"I…ah…" She felt stupid. Did Tenten think her stupid? She hoped not.

The princess nodded. "Go on, think. I've got _all _the _time _in the _world._"

Sakura didn't know if she was kidding or not, so she quickly shot out.

"Who is he?"

Tenten contemplated that question. Sakura waited, twisting her fingers nervously behind her back.

"Uchiha Sasuke…hmm." The brunette paused. "Prince of Honoo, first of all. The second one, really. The First Prince is his older brother, Itachi. They're both extremely talented shinobi, very powerful, intelligent, and absolutely gorgeous. However, they're both very detached. Itachi's completely passive. Emotionless. Sasuke doesn't care about anything, except surpassing Itachi. God knows why."

Tenten stopped again. Seconds later she opened her mouth to continue, but Sakura cut in.

"What about the rest of his family? Inoichi-jou said something about Suna."

Tenten nodded contemplatively.

"Suna. That's a really big problem for us. The Uchiha and the Sabaku are related by marriage. Uchiha Mikoto is Sabaku no Hikaru's older sister -- that is, before the latter died in childbirth. The two countries are very close. You could say Ino was our sacrifice." She smile wryly.

"Anyways. Sasuke's family is a very strict facility. Their clan is powerful; they resent weakness, and raise their children as such. Free will is nonexistent. Things like sugar and toys are utterly denied, even to toddlers. Time is given as a reward. Mothers are not permitted to see their children anytime of the day other than at meals. Love is an indulgence rarely given. You are never allowed to want. You are trained not to need. This is how Uchiha children are reared."

Tenten waited for another question. Sakura didn't notice, too busy trying to imagine what a life like that would be like. Quietly, she asked, "Is Uchiha-san…very…resentful?"

Tenten shook her head.

"No. He's just a frigid bastard, and--"

She stopped, and leaned forward. Seeing this, Sakura copied the gesture.

"Now. This is the reason I called you here today. It could mean your life if you forget it. Are you listening?"

Sakura nodded. Her stomach twisted in its nervousness. Tenten searched her eyes for a minute, before taking a breath.

"Alright. There's a man after Sasuke. His name is Orochimaru, he rules a small, nondescript country in the East -- Oto. It's gaining power slowly. Slowly, but surely.

"The Uchiha posses a bloodline limit called the _sharingan_. It's very powerful, and very rare. The only other kekkei genkai that rivals it is the _byakugan_, owned by the Hyuuga of Haku. And guess what? Orochimaru wants the sharingan. He wants Sasuke."

Sakura interrupted.

"Why doesn't he go after his brother?"

Tenten snorted.

"Orochimaru is powerful, but not _that_ powerful. There is no way in hell he could ever lay a _finger_ on Uchiha Itachi. He's going for Sasuke because he's young, he's reckless and he doesn't have the ultimate weapon of the Uchiha yet -- the _mangekyou sharingan._

"Remember how I told you that all Sasuke cares about is surpassing Itachi? Well, I _mean_ it. He would give up his life to defeat his brother. Orochimaru knows this. He's discreetly trying to slip past the intricate security system of Honoo and offer Sasuke power for his body. The King and Queen fear that, given the temptation, Sasuke would agree." Tenten stopped, before reaching out and taking Sakura's hands in her own, letting the clasp dangle in the air between them.

"Have you wondered why such a large, prosperous country like Honoo would deign to have a child from such a small country like Mizu for a bride, when richer countries would kill to marry into the Uchiha family?"

Sakura shook her head in embarrassment, her brain immediately jumping to work on that puzzle. Tenten helped by…well, telling her.

"The specialty bloodline jutsu of the Yamanaka--you know it? Shintenshin no Justu. It's an astral-projection, mind controlling jutsu--do you understand?"

It clicked.

"You're saying…that's just what the Uchiha need."

Tenten nodded.

"Yes. They need it to restrain Sasuke, if the time come need be. The problem is, only those of pure royal Yamanaka descent, like me and Ino, can do it. Now, you…you understand, you can't, no matter how hard you train. Your father...isn't noble. By blood."

Tenten took a second to look rather abashed at mentioning Sakura's father before she leaned in more.

"You. _Can't_. _Do it_. Don't ever let it slip that you're my cousin," the brunette whispered sharply. "Don't ever let the Uchiha know what you can't do."

"What will happen if I do? By accident?" Sakura asked before she could stop herself. She was trembling with fear.

Tenten's answer held no hesitation.

"They'll kill you."

She drew back and stood, brushing imaginary lint off her dressing robe, and all the tension that previously existed in the room vanished. Tenten looked disinterested again, and her eyes slipped back to the Haruno girl for a split second before she turned and walked out, throwing a steady dismissal over her shoulder as she left.

"Good day, Sakura. I look forward to seeing you again."

The lady-in-waiting, Hana, appeared, and escorted Sakura into the living room to Kiba. He had a solemn look on his face, like he knew exactly what Tenten had said. Politely, he walked her back to her rooms in silence, said goodbye at her door, and left.

**.-.-.-.**

It was dark outside now; she didn't realize the conversation had taken so much time. Sakura collapsed into bed the second she entered her bedroom, waving off Ayame and Kikumo, instead squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to drift off, but Tenten's words kept echoing in her head.

Hours later, she rose in frustration and ran towards the bathroom. Shedding her kimono and possibly ripping it, too, she dashed towards the inlaid pool that served as her tub and dove in, relishing the feeling of cold water against her skin. She fell asleep that way, floating on the surface, the stabbing sensation of the freezing liquid distracting her dreams from the threat of death.

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**_I'm going on vacation starting June 17th (CHINA!! WHOO!!) and I won't be back until July 20th, so during the five weeks I'm gone, don't say "Why the hell aren't you updating?! IT'S SUMMER!!" because I will have minimal internet access in China and will probably be using it to email/IM my buddies. And send crap to Kerry._

_The next chapter is titled **Out of the Frying Pan but Not Quite in the Fire**. It'll probably be out mid-July to early August. It's around 50 percent finished. Just wait for it._

_**IMPORTANT NOTE: **I'M STILL LOOKING FOR REALLY AWESOME BETAS (like Kerry)! If you're interested, PM me. GO FOR IT! GO! GOOO!!_

_As always, R&R_


	3. Out of the Frying Pan

_An Unreasonably Long Author's Note_

_Ha! A last-minute update for me lovies. Je suis heading down to Phoenix tommorow. I love you guys, me dearest reviewers. This is for every one of you who asked so nicely for one more chapter, for the ones who are sticking with me, and for the ones who've declared they'd "wait forever"! You're awesome, guys!_

_Chapter Three of Faute de Mieux is dedicated to **mtm123** (you'll like it, I promise), nhix and my awesome beta, **-Out-of-Inspiration**- (I. LOVE. Panic!! XD)! I hope you guys stick with me! Also dedicated partly to any reviewers who've faithfully reviewed every chapter, given awesome advice, and encouraged me! I LOVE YOU!_

_This chapter is a little slow in the beginning, so please bear with me!_

**.-.-.-.**

**OUT OF THE FRYING PAN BUT NOT QUITE IN THE FIRE**

**.-.-.-.**

Sakura mostly stayed in bed for the next few days, leaving her feather-stuffed, blanket-walled refuge only for soaks in the tub, or at the very rare beckoning of Tenten. She took her classes in her rooms, refusing (with the decision and authority of a princess) point-blank to leave. A part of her mind rejoiced at making Manners Mistress trudge up to her rooms in the West Wing, but it was faint and dim. She was too busy preoccupying her frightened mind by helping with paperwork and working herself to the bone perfecting the geisha-like mask Manners Mistress, Postures Mistress and Speech Mistress were drilling into her.

Sakura did well. The women were pleased.

Ayame and Kikumo, however, were worried. After Tenten told her the real reason for the arranged marriage between Ino and Uchiha Sasuke, she had lost all appetite. But her closed-up mental state was improving rather quickly as the days became sunnier, the rain that had savaged the country only a day ago a long-lost memory. With all the extra ANBU Tenten was sending her with instructions to attempt to teach her to defend herself and to withhold information, Sakura doubted she would slip up even if she were drunk. (She was intolerant to alcohol, so she doubted she'd be drinking any, but hey, it could happen. A _real_ princess, Manners Mistress had snootily told her, must always play consort to her husband, pour him sake, and, especially for the Uchiha, forsake all weaknesses and down the incorrigible liquid.)

Two days before she was shipped off, Kiba arrived at her door again. He had gotten too comfortable, Sakura decided, as he had only met her very recently, because he didn't even bother knocking. He merely swung open the door and dragged her out of bed, throwing her to her overjoyed ladies-in-waiting.

"Ten minutes, Sakura-chan," Kiba winked at her. "Tenten's expecting you outside."

"Where, specifically?" the pink-haired girl questioned, turning from picking between a soft blue sundress with a navy and white plaid pattern and a yellow one with large embroidered pink flowers. The tendency to pick between 'suitable' clothing chosen _for_ her by Ayame was growing on her. She wondered distinctly how she got by before, throwing on anything that wasn't on the floor.

"West Garden, 44-52," he threw the numbers over his shoulder, to one of the ladies. Then he bowed, made quick, light conversation with the two girls, and exited with a flourish, abandoning Sakura in utter confusion as to where to go.

**.-.-.-.**

Kikumo dashed to her bedchamber, pulling out a series of maps of the castle grounds and pinpointing said garden the minute Kiba left. As she and Ayame proceeded to dress Sakura in the yellow garment and forced green clogs onto her feet, Sakura examined the laminated papers.

"It's pretty complicated, ma'am," called Ayame. "You have to be trained to read it. I can't even, really." The girl smiled at Sakura, who turned her head to see the servant girl toss her light orange curls over her shoulder as she finished lacing up the back of the light dress. Kikumo nodded in agreement, but Sakura shook her head.

"No," she replied, "It's rather simple. See, here's the castle, and the West Gardens, and the East Gardens and the North Gardens. Here's the manor, the stables…the fields, the riding area, the forest and the range. And the lake, and the shooting galley." She pointed to each in turn. Red-haired Kikumo stared at her in wonder, and Ayame abandoned her current task of lacing up the light green shoes to learn.

Sakura pointed at the numbers lining the outsides of the map. "Coordinates," she said simply, putting one long finger on 44 and another on 52, pulling them both to a pinpoint in a shaded area labeled _Rose Garden_. "See? There's where I'm supposed to go."

She rolled up the pieces of parchment and handed them to Kikumo, who hastily stored them away. Ayame dug up a long 8 ft by 4 ft elbow draping and handed it to Sakura. "It's a nice day," the princess commented as the two produced a curler and proceeded to turn the last three inches of her pink locks into a wavy mass, "You guys should come outside with me." Sakura turned to them with a smile. "Come on, dress up. We're going into the garden."

She sent Ayame and Kikumo away to take off their blue uniform dress and white apron, and put on something decent. She found herself a green and pink hair comb, twisted it into her hair, and felt quite accomplished. The two girls returned five minutes later, Ayame in a white top like Tenten's and a jade-colored skirt with an edge of embroidered butterflies, and Kikumo in a white cheongsam number edged with gold. Sakura smiled, pleased, pulled the elbow-drape around her shoulders, and opened the door.

"Come on. I think we're over the time limit…"

**.-.-.-.**

They found they were, in fact, _well _over the ten minute time restriction given by the brunette royal.

Tenten stood on a boulder in the middle of a patch of roses, with her thick hair up in two large buns, wearing a white top and burgundy sweats, her feet clad in white heeled sandals. She had what looked like a three-foot, fancily decorated metal pole in one hand, from the top of which protruded a long silver chain connected to a rather sharp looking scythe held in her other hand. The butt of the weapon had another, non-retractable chain, at the end of which there was a sharp, heavy looking counterweight. Sakura swallowed when she arrived, for Tenten had been twirling the instrument with ease, with Kiba standing nearby on the walkway, a large pile of weapons beside him, in a pair of black shorts and a non-weather-wise white fur-lined jacket. Beside him was Hana, her brown hair pulled into a low pony hair, wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck and a blood red skirt slit up to her thighs. All three looked ready to train; Tenten looked ready to bite Sakura's head off.

"Ten minutes, young lady," she said in a severly pissed-off tone, "Do you know how long you took?"

Sakura looked nervously from Kiba to Hana, and then to Ayame and Kikumo. She shook her head.

"_Half an hour._ Half a GODDAMN hour! Tell me, _Haruno_ Sakura, do you have a problem with telling time?"

Sakura shook her head again.

"Oh, really? The first time I call you, you were permitted a thirty-minute time slot, and you came in ten. This time, I gave you a ten minute time slot, and you come in thirty. Has that chicken-haired Manners bitch taught you _nothing?_ NEVER keep a princess waiting."

Tenten glowered down at her, waves of tangible fury rolling off of her. Sakura swallowed and summoned up her voice.

"Chapter 27, clause 3 of the textbook says that a princess must not be kept waiting," she replied steadily, "but chapter 27, clause 5 says a princess is always permitted to be _waited for_."

Sakura waited for a minute for the information to sink in. Finally, Kiba burst out in snorts of laughter, and seconds later Hana joined him. Feeling triumphant, Sakura tilted her face to meet Tenten's eyes, only to find the bladed end of the silver weapon slicing past her ear. Sakura winced.

"Twenty laps around the garden!" Tenten roared at her, though it was somewhat apparent that the anger was now replaced by amusement. "Kiba! Hana! Sakura! GO!"

The Inuzuka siblings sped off in a blur of black and white, the taller one gaining a few feet on the shorter in a matter of seconds. Then Tenten was gone, too, in a blur of burgundy, catching up to Kiba easily, leaving Sakura standing in shock, staring at the dots in the distance.

Tenten's voice came floating back, taunting her. "Twenty laps! Ten minutes! Start running, _princess_!"

**.-.-.-.**

Tenten stopped her after three laps around the mile-long pathway that wound through the West Gardens, but only because they (Tenten, Hana and Kiba) were already finished. Before Sakura could catch her breath, she was given (read: forced to procure) a weapon.

Hana took it upon herself to teach (read: yell at) Sakura about _chakra_, not explain what the hell she was yelling about at all, and waited patiently (read: waving a kunai around) as Sakura quickly (this is actually true) mastered it. She taught Sakura a few simple jutsus, had her tussle with (read: get her ass beaten by) Kiba, before handing her to her mistress.

Then Tenten proceeded to train (read: beat the shit out of) her for the rest of the afternoon. They switched weapons at least fifty times until Sakura managed to lift up the thin rapier, block the claymore Tenten was smashing down at her, and deliver a nearly-successful punch.

With a tremendous effort on her part, Sakura's knuckle nicked the side of Tenten's face. The brunette blinked twice, scowled, chucked the claymore in Kiba's general direction (ignoring the terrified shrieks of Sakura's ladies-in-waiting, and their applause as he caught it easily) and tackled her to the ground. Sakura gave up and surrendered. Tenten stood triumphant.

"That wasn't bad," she commented, "I don't think you're good with hand weapons, though. Kiba, go try her on the throwing projectiles."

**.-.-.-.**

Three hours later, Sakura felt dead. Ayame and Kikumo flitted and fretted as Tenten huddled and muttered with the Inuzukas. There was a lot of sudden yelling, several hard punches to Kiba's head (courtesy of Tenten), and lots of shifty-eye crap. Finally, Tenten broke the huddle with a smack on Kiba's forehead and walked towards Sakura, explaining that they believed she was more of a hand-to-hand combat type, and that she was rather good with chakra. When she also explained rather regretfully that none of them were hand-to-hand combat types specializing in chakra-related attacks, Sakura almost died of relief.

"But," Kiba cut in with a much too happy grin, "Guess what? We'll still train ya on kunai and the easy jutsus. You'll have to wait till we get to Honoo for proper combat training, though."

Sakura blinked through her exhaustion.

"What? Why?"

"Well," Hana spoke, "You need to be able to protect yourself in Honoo. And just in case they _do_ find out what they aren't supposed to, that is, that you're not quite who you say you are, the King and Tenten want to give you a chance to defend yourself until help gets there."

Sakura blinked again, ignoring the sick feeling burrowing itself to the pit of her stomach at mention of possible death. "Wha…? Who's help?"

"Oh," Tenten grinned, twirling the large claymore around her body rapidly in her ecstasy. "Didn't I tell you? We're coming with you to Honoo." With flick of her wrist, she sent the claymore through the middle of a tree. "And Tsunade of Kusa, will be there. She'll train you with us!" With that, she dashed off happily, leaving Kiba and Hana behind, observing their now pinprick-sized mistress dryly.

"Wonderful," Hana said to Kiba as they helped Ayame and Kikumo pick up Sakura, "_he's _going to be there, isn't he?"

Kiba snorted, walking towards the castle beside his sister, in front of Sakura and her handmaidens. "Duh. That's why she's almost bouncing off the walls, stupid."

Hana smacked him. Sakura, however looked from her to Kiba in undisguised curiosity.

"Who's going to be there?" she questioned, "Who's Tenten-chan so happy to see?"

The four others stopped and stared at her.

"No way," Ayame giggled. "You don't know?"

"Come on," Kikumo stared at her bemusedly. "Really? It's everywhere."

Sakura's pink brow furrowed in her annoyance. "Out with it already. Who is it?"

Kiba smirked. "Haven't you heard, Your Royal Highness? Yamanaka Tenten is over her head _smitten_."

Sakura looked ready to pound him into the ground (something they learned she was rather skilled at). Kiba put his hands out in a mock shield and quickly continued, "It's Hyuuga Neji of Haku. He didn't even know she existed until he needed her. Tenten's head over heels in love with that _bastard_ Hyuuga Neji."

**.-.-.-.**

Sakura wasn't about to rest until she found out who this Hyuuga Neji was. At six o' clock the next morning, she leapt out of bed, woke her poor ladies-in-wating, dressed herself (or, taher, was dressed by a half-asleep Ayame) in a heaping pile of forest green, and all but darted towards her first class.

History Mistress almost had an aneurysm at Sakura's sudden, unabashed interest in the Crown Prince of Haku. But she wasn't going to pass up the chance for good gossip, or the fact that her student suddenly _wanted_ to learn.

"Hyuuga Neji, eh? Hmm." The tall, snowy-haired woman tapped her long, aristocratic nose with her pointer as she thought. Sakura sat patiently (after her overly-polite obeisance of pleases and thank-yous that had Speech Mistress weeping for joy), her hands folded neatly in her lap, hanky clasped between index and middle fingers, the skirt of her gown tucked down neatly around her (bare, but don't tell anyone) feet. Manners Mistress would have been proud.

"Well. Where to start?"

"Anywhere, please, ma'am," Sakura simpered prettily. "I would truly, sincerely love to know."

Speech Mistress smiled contentedly from her armchair in the corner. History Mistress opened her fish-lipped mouth and began her speech.

"Hyuuga Neji is the son of the current ruler Hyuuga Hiashi-sama's deceased brother Hyuuga Hizashi-sama.

"The Hyuuga clan is divided into two branches: the Main House and the Branch House. The Branch House serves only to protect the Main House. Members of the Branch House are branded with a terrible cursed seal, never permitted freedom, never allowed to rule. This is the root of much hatred for the Main House in the Branch House. Though Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-sama were twins, Hizashi-sama was born a second later, and, as a result, was cast into the Branch House.

"Hiashi-sama's first daughter, Hyuuga Hinata, has abdicated (or, as some suspect, was forced to abdicate) her place as heir to the throne of Haku and head of the Hyuuga clan. Now, Hyuuga Hanabi, her sister and five years her junior, is next in line to the throne. But the only support Hanabi has is of her father and the Council of Elders. The rest of the Hyuuga believe the throne and place as head of the clan belongs to Neji. Neji is of age to inherit both places, while Hanabi is still a child. This is the main conflict in Haku at the moment."

History Mistress paused for a moment.

"Why do they call Neji the Crown Prince, madam?" Sakura inquired.

"Well," History Mistress smiled at her kindly. "That's just it. Though Hanabi's blood claim to Haku is stronger, because she is of the pure Main House blood, Neji has many times more support than she could ever hope to obtain. He is more powerful, mastering the greatest arts of the Hyuuga Byakugan without ever being taught it, a genius; and he has friends in _very_ high places."

Again, History Mistress paused for effect.

"Hyuuga Neji is strongly allied with Suna's King, Sabaku no Gaara-sama; he is also a _very_ close friend of your betrothed, Uchiha Sasuke. He will be at Honoo's court for a few months to win the favor of the monarchy of Kusa and of our own Mizu."

The old woman smiled coyly and shared a sly glance with Speech Mistress. "Though," she smirked, "I doubt Hyuuga Neji-sama will have much trouble gaining the latter."

Sakura interrupted gently, thinking back to the day before. "So Hyuuga Neji-sama will be looking for the support of Tenten-san, and…Lady Tsunade?"

History Mistress shook her head vehemently.

"Oh, no! Not Tsunade-hime, no. He'll be looking for friendship from the Crown Prince, Uzumaki Naruto-sama. Tsunade-hime is just the steward, a caretaker of the throne." She leaned in, and continued in a whisper. "I hear there's some great scandal in Kusa about the Crown Prince. Something terrible."

"What?"

Both women laughed.

"Child, you don't expect _us_ to know?" Speech Mistress scoffed. "No, no. No idea."

History Mistress spared a glance at the large mahogany grandfather clock between the two bay windows in the room.

"Oh! It's already time for you to go, princess. Well. Time flies when you're having fun, no?"

Sakura smiled politely and performed a delicate curtsey. Both Mistresses looked pleased, before Speech Mistress turned and opened a drawer in the corner beside the large grand piano whose bench History Mistress had sat on. She emerged with a folder, which she handed to Sakura before patting her on the confection of pins, flowers and curls Sakura unfortunately had to call her hair that day.

"There now," Speech Mistress smiled. "Indulge yourself."

"Run along now, dear," History Mistress ushered her out of the set of double doors, no doubt wanting Sakura gone so she could gossip with Speech Mistress.

With the manila folder clutched tightly under her arm, she proceeded to her room.

.-.-.-.

When Sakura reached her rooms, the first thing she did was fling herself into a plush velvet chair beside her bistro table. Setting the folder down onto the small, round table, she sifted through two dozen rough, handwritten papers containing notes on the countries of Kusa, Honoo, Suna and Haku, and a new, fresher, typewritten one on Oto. Finally, she reached a thin sheaf of around six photographs.

The first few were of a blond boy. He had big blue eyes and wild hair, and markings on his cheeks.

In the first (and obviously oldest) photo, the blond boy was a mere child, wearing an ugly orange arrangement, his hand pointed at the cameraman as if to block him out, eyes squinted shut and mouth set in an annoyed pout. He was sprawled on a large red sofa, instant ramen bowls in a messy pile beside him.

In the second photo, he was older, around sixteen. His outfit didn't change much, except that it looked much neater and more mature. He stared right into the camera, a big grin on his face, one hand on his hips and the other pointing a thumbs-up at the camera, the picture of freedom and youth.

In the third photo, the perspective was from the side. The blond boy was a young man, and the man was a solemn one. He wore a jade colored summer yukata lined in shades of yellow. He stood on a field overlooking a large city, a golden circlet barely visible among the wild, untamed locks of straw-colored hair. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. Beside him was a busty woman in a green robe, a white shift and black pants. She faced him, a worried expression on her face. On her head was the hat of the Kage of a ninja village.

_Weird_, Sakura thought. _Don't kings wear both the crown and the hat of the Kage?_ Her uncle sure did. She flipped the photo over in search of an explanation, and found the words _Uzumaki Naruto-sama, Hokkou Tsunade-hime _in a neat hand. Looking back at the previous photos, the first name was printed on their backsides, too.

The fourth photo was of a different man. His eyes were a strange color -- they were completely white, even the pupil. The man's hair was inky black, long and silky looking, flowing down his back. He wore a simple white haori and black hakama. He was half-turned, as if just leaving, his face expressionless, the tiniest of frowns on his lips. He was tall, elegant; his opal eyes piercing Sakura's heart.

He looked so…cold.

Sakura shuddered a little and flipped over the picture. Just as she has suspected, the words _Hyuuga Neji-sama_ were written across the back.

The fifth picture was of a redhead, his hair tousled by the wind, perched on a massive sand dome. _Gaara of Suna, _she thought. The picture was not clear--the King was distant in the picture. All Sakura could make out was red hair, black-lined green eyes and rather tribal looking clothes. She could not distinguish any expression, so she put away the photo of the cross-legged boy after a few more seconds.

She turned her eyes to the last picture, and her breath caught in her throat.

The man had the deepest, darkest eyes she had ever seen, a wonderful coal color, though completely devoid of emotion or expression. His hair was black, jutting out behind him at the strangest angles. He also wore a white haori, and his face was so handsome, so hauntingly beautiful, that Sakura thought she was going to hyperventilate.

Hands trembling, she turned the photo.

_Uchiha Sasuke-sama._

"Oh Gods," she breathed, "Oh, my _God_…"

How was she going to live with this...this _godly_ creature for...

For the rest of her life?

* * *

**GLOSSARY**

yukata : a thin full-body garment worn by both men and women in Japan

haori : a sort of wrap-around shirt

hakama : loose fitting pants

hime : "lady" or "Princess"

**.-.-.-.-.**

_So...I'll be gone on Sunday. (waah...I have a bigg fevah today. DX)_

_Remember, me lovies:_

_Reviews -- Love_

_Love -- Inspiration_

_Inspiration -- Faster updates!!_

_(summary: Reviews -- Updates. Yes, I'm trying to bribe you. Those of you who write, PROMOTE FAUTE DE MIEUX!!)_

_Till next time!_


	4. Into the Fire

**.-.-.-.**

**INTO THE FIRE -- AND DAMN IS IT HOT**

**.-.-.-.**

"Tenten, d'you know what that is?"

"It's a brougham."

"No, the thing _behind_ the brougham."

Tenten blinked. "That's the luggage cart, stupid."

Sakura pivoted slowly on the spot.

"It's _bigger_ than the brougham, Ten."

The First Princess stared at Sakura blankly.

"And…?"

Sakura gave a loud, exasperated sigh, threw her arms in the air and stomped off.

"I give up."

**.-.-.-.**

The preparations for Sakura's departure from Mizu were, to be completely inadequate, gargantuan. She was kicked out of her suite by Ayame, Kikumo, and the insane horde of maids and ladies-in-waiting stampeding in the door with them. When she was re-released into the room a day later, she was greeted with five large chests, three suitcases, two crates and ten small cases. The entire room was empty but for the furniture. Even more amazing was the fact the clothes from the previous day were already laundered and packed.

Around six hours before she was set to leave, Sakura was accosted, dragged to her bathroom (where she was unceremoniously dunked into the pool she had the 'pleasure' of calling her tub) and thoroughly scrubbed from hair to toenail with shampoos and soaps scented of brown sugar and figs. The scent was sweet, warm and alluring, but in massive abundance. Kikumo assured her that half the smell would fade before she got dressed, and it was 'safe' to apply extra. Sakura assured Kikumo that if they sprayed her with any more of the stuff she would suffocate, die and rot in seconds from the chemicals used to create the concoction.

When her ladies were finished dousing her with water, Sakura was dried with around a dozen heavenly soft towels (one for every limb, apparently). When dry, she was guided into her bedchamber. Ayame, Kikumo and the others there barely contained giggles of excitement, and Sakura quickly discovered why.

On her stripped four-poster lay an amazing Western gown. Sakura felt faint at the sight.

It was a deep, striking crimson color, edged with white lace. The neckline was bold: it came off the shoulders, showed a good deal of cleavage and was lined with two inches of lace. The sleeves puffed a little, gathering at the elbows, tied with a white ribbon before giving out to a strip of the red velvet and three layers of lace. The bodice was red, with white silk ribbon crisscrossing the front like a corset. Under the ribbons was a complicated ivory curlicue design.

The waist was lined with a white ribbon, tied; and again it gave to white lace. The skirt of the gown was plain--the flaming fabric fell smoothly in a shining cascade. The confection was finished with a six-inch lace ruffle trim.

The dress fit Sakura perfectly, though the corset pushed up her breasts up to dangerous heights. A sort of collar made of white lace and a strip of red silk circled her neck.

After a few minutes of admiring squeals from her ladies-in-waiting, Sakura guided to her dresser. Kikumo began to work with her hair.

The pink locks were separated into around ten sections. Each was extended several feet with fake, dyed hair. Each section was scooped in a curve and pinned on the top of her head with around a million hairpins, then framed with a white rose, complete with a leaf. What cascaded from the rose-pin combos was curled, and then brushed to create artistically messy, curving locks.

Ayame applied black liner to Sakura's eyes, making them seem bigger. Her eyelashes were blackened and curled, her cheeks pinked, her lips painted cherry. She placed a mahogany fan in Sakura's hand, and placed a pearl drop on a silver chain around her temple.

When at last Sakura was permitted to stand and look at herself in the full-length mirror, she ungracefully choked on her own saliva, coughed, hacked, and spluttered in amazement. Sure, the lips were a bit overdone, and her hands looked tiny and short protruding from the large sleeves, and her hair felt weirdly light even though there were feet and feet of it, but the overall effect was amazing. Several of the ladies were sobbing openly.

"Alright," Sakura took a deep breath, slipping on dainty red slippers. "Let's go."

**.-.-.-.**

Tenten, Kiba and Hana were unexpectedly not so amazed.

"She looks faded," Kiba nudged Tenten. "Doesn't look right. And something's different about the dress."

"Too much red," Tenten agreed, "It's doing something damn terrible to her hair."

"It's clashing," quipped Hana. "It looked a lot better on you."

At this, Sakura stifled her indignant protests and almost fell over.

"This was _your_ dress, Tenten?"

"Yup," there was a smug grin on Tenten's face. "Wore it to my debutante ball. Daddy ordered this color because I was _so_ tan at the time--red makes anything look pale. My hair was curled, though. Hmm." Tenten walked a circle around Sakura, the grin widening. "You'll do. It's lucky for you, though, that_ I_ decided not to deck out today. Otherwise, you'd be _completely_ outshone."

And indeed, she didn't…in her opinion. Tenten wore an emerald kimono edged with gold and emblazoned with golden, flower-laden sakura branches. Over the silk garment she wore a thin, gold satin robe edged with green, and draped around her elbows was a jade-colored wrap embroidered with emerald and gold dragons.

Tenten's hair was straight--and mostly down. A section behind each ear lay on her chest; a section in front of each ear was pulled back in a dropping curve and pinned into a stiff, straight loop, at the base of which lay two gold hair sticks. Intricately leaves carved from jade and emeralds hung from their golden chains, clinking when she moved. Sakura wondered what 'decking out' meant for Tenten, then assumed she would eventually find out.

"Well," Sakura managed to choke out, "Aren't you wrapped up all pretty."

Tenten smiled at her. "Come on," she held her hand out to the pink-haired girl, "Get in."

**.-.-.-.**

The carriage they were helped into was massive. It was oak, with a mahogany varnish, and the wheels were black iron. The driver's seat was black leather, and had a retractable overhang to provide said driver with shade. The horses that pulled it were large brown Morgans, powerful but gentle.

Inside, it had large, plush velvet seats--white--and feather pillows in cotton cases. The curtains over the glass windows were grey silk, and the fluffy carpet was wool of the same color. The ceiling was draped with blue fabrics, the same color as the walls.

Tenten arranged her kimono so it wouldn't wrinkle as she sat down on one of the seats. Sakura smoothed down her skirt, grabbed a pillow and sat opposite Tenten. To her surprise, Kiba and Hana entered behind them, Kiba seating himself beside Tenten near the door and Hana across from him. They settled themselves comfortably, thoroughly looking like they belonged there,

"Your ladies-in-waiting are in the brougham behind us," Tenten told Sakura. "Behind themare the luggage carts, and then a brougham of hairdressers and tailors. ANBU Teams 13 and 15 are behind them, Teams 4, 22 and 9 are in front of our carriage. Teams 11, 5, and 23 are around us. Hana and Kiba are here for our protection."

"Wha--Ayame and Kikumo are coming?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"Well, of course," Hana looked at Sakura strangely. "Your ladies-in-waiting stay with you. They have every right to."

"Ladies-in-waiting are from noble families," Kiba explained when Sakura's face adopted a befuddled expression, "Serving royalty is like school for them. This way they can earn their seat in Court, make connections, and learn how to manage a household. Wherever you go, they go with you. Abroad, they wear your colors."

"Eh…colors?"

Tenten gestured at Kiba and Hana.

Kiba wore a bronze-colored haori, embroidered with wolves, and a white hakama. Hana, her hair in a twisted chignon, was wearing a kimono made of the same fabric as her brother's haori.

"Whatever they wear should compliment what you wear," Tenten told her offhandedly, leaning her head on a pillow. "Your ladies-in-waiting own matching garments to compliment every piece of clothing you have when you're on the road. My best guess is that Lady Kazuno Ayame and Lady Kaori Kikumo are wearing orange, or yellow."

"Why does it matter?"

"How your servants dress says things about you," Tenten clarified, "They won't wear poor fabrics, or things that clash with you; they have to pick not only by personal preference, compromise and your wardrobe, but they have to have clothing made that won't be the same color as your companions' clothing, or that of your companions' servants. Why do you think Court is always so colorful? If your servants wear colors that don't make you look good, or are the same color as some other noble's garments, you will be humiliated, and the noble will be offended. But basically, if they look good, you look good."

Sakura gulped. "I'd hate to be one of them, then," she laughed weakly, trying to pass it off. Tenten smiled at her.

"If you were really royalty, you'd have to do it for at least two years. Luckily, you're not."

Before Sakura could respond, the carriage lurched, and began moving.

Tenten reached inside her obi, tugged, and emerged with a small notebook and a pen. Immediately, Hana got up, all but shoved Kiba aside, and plopped down next to Tenten.

"Which one?"

"What time?"

"The ball. I'm thinking the sheer."

"No. The blue. Definitely the blue."

"You mean Ino's…?"

"Yeah. It's different, it'll accent her hair and her eyes."

"Again, Ino will always look better in it," Hana shook her head. "Is there nothing in there for just her?"

"Nothing really extravagant," Tenten muttered under her breath. "A week's not enough to have anything made properly."

The two buried their heads in the notebook. Sakura elbowed Kiba.

"What're they talking about?"

"Dresses, probably," the brunet yawned and stretched, resting his hands behind his neck. "There's a ball the night you arrive."

"We're dressed," she pointed out blankly. "Nicely."

"Yeah, well, you're not supposed to stay in the same thing on the first day. You're supposed to show off your best, so you'll change every few hours."

"Is that what they're doing?" she nodded at the brunettes across from them.

"Probably."

"Don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope."

Sakura frowned.

"Why?"

"Well," Kiba drawled in a bored manner as the carriage bumped along, "First of all, they're professionals. Second, there's somethin' 'bout wearing clothing that won't offend no one. Tenten's got a copy of the guest list; she _knows_ these people." He scratched his hair and gave her a grin. "And she knows how far she can push Lady Tsuchi Kin."

Sakura sighed.

"This is getting really old, but _who_?"

Before Kiba could answer, Tenten barked, "Kiba! Get me Temari!!"

Kiba reached inside his haori and pulled out a portfolio. Several other papers fell to the floor; Kiba ignored them. Opening it, he riffed around a little before pulling out a large glossy photograph. On it, a woman in her twenties with dirty blonde hair was turning from speaking to a weird man with a painted face at some formal affair. Her hair was tied rather messily; not even the fashionably messy she'd seen ladies request. She wore a white yukata edged with bluish purple lace and fishnet stockings. A violet sash around her waist was tied loosely, the ends pooling on the floor. Before Sakura could get a closer look, the photo was chucked at Hana.

There was a brief silence between Kiba and Sakura before the latter prompted, "So…Lady Tsuchi?"

Kiba started. "Eh? Oh, right, Kin. Well. When you see her, you'll know her, but here."

He took another dive into the Portfolio of Doom (it actually said that on the front) and emerged with another photo.

This woman was older than the blonde. She had long, inky black hair neatly pinned in a chignon at the nape of her neck, decorated with a web of shiny jewels. Her eyes were sharp and brown, lined, the lids shaded grey. Her face was aristocratic: her lips full, her nose curving, her eyebrows waxed into elegant arches. Lady Tsuchi Kin was a beauty, no arguing with that, and by the smug curve of her lips, she knew it.

Her dress was black silk -- it had a high collar, lined with lace, and no sleeves. A large hole in the chest stretched from arm to arm, exposing most of her bosom. The skirt of the dress clung to her legs; a slit ran all the way up to her thigh. The bottom edge of the dress was also lined with white silk lace.

"Wow," Sakura breathed.

Kiba grinned. "Yeah." He pointed at the dress. "Most of her gowns are more revealing than that. The Uchiha promote modesty, but they make exceptions for powerful women. Kin is a _very_ powerful woman, a kunoichi, so they make _extra_ exceptions for her. For example, her affair's being completely ignored. Kin's married to Lord Dosu, but everyone knows she's sleeping with his brother, Zaku. I wouldn't blame her, really; Dosu's all wrapped up in bandages from burn wounds. But he's rich and has standing, and she likes the benefit of that. Anyways, Dosu doesn't really care, he just likes to parade her around cause's she's a pretty thing."

"So, um," Sakura prompted him, "what's 'pushing' Lady Tsuchi?"

"It's a game some of the Court ladies play. They dress in less and less, and Kin matches them in skin every time. They only stop when she doesn't deign to go any further. She knows how far she can push Queen Mikoto. It's very useful to the women; they find out how close to flashing Uchiha Itachi they can get." He paused for a second. "Tenten doesn't like Kin, and Kin doesn't like Tenten. Kin knows that the Uchiha make exceptions for her, too, and they like Ten better, because _she's_ not having an affair with her husband's little brother, so Kin's jealous. Ten thinks Kin's a complete bitch. To tell you the truth, they're not so different, but they're bent on hating each other, so that's that."

Sakura nodded slowly, processing the information, photograph of the beautiful Kin resting in her hand.

"Hey," she said suddenly, gesturing at the portfolio, "Can I see that?"

Kiba gave it to her without a word, before closing his eyes, leaning back and starting a nap.

As the two women opposite her quibbled and argued over pointless details, Sakura studied the portfolio thoroughly, again and again, memorizing names and faces until they were second nature in her mind.

**.-.-.-.**

Honoo was gorgeous.

More trees than Kusa. More rivers than Mizu. More sunlight than Kari.

The driver led them through a yellow stone lane, lined with five-foot bushes interwoven with several plantings of young aspen trees. The lane ended in a large flower plot with blooms creating a likeness of the Crest of the Honoo Royal Family. Where the white half of the round fan was, a large ivory fountain with silver statues of phoenixes stood instead, spurting gallons of sparkling blue water.

The palace was made of marble. Every single bay window was adorned with a thick velvet curtain. The massive main doors were made of ivory, displaying carvings of phoenixes and dragons. There were six stories, each with six marble columns. It was the most amazing structure Sakura had ever seen.

The door of the carriage opened mere seconds after their carriage stopped in front of the gates. Two of the ANBU helped Tenten and Hana out. Kiba leapt out of the door after his sister, and a third ANBU came to escort Sakura.

As she took the stranger's hand and began descending the first step to the carriage, something caught her eye. She excused herself from the guard and bent down under her seat to see what it was.

A small rectangular photograph lay on the ground. _Kiba must've dropped it earlier_, she thought. _Strange, though, it's smaller than the others._

This one had no name on the back. Flipping it over, she stopped.

In the photograph was a young girl wearing the same gown she wore at that moment. The girl's eyes were a soft doe brown, and her hair chestnut. She had uneven bangs that strayed into her eyes. Several locks of straight hair fell to frame her face, while the rest of the short, cropped tresses were scooped up on top of her head and pinned with red roses and baby's breath just like Sakura's. A nervous smile graced the girl's lips.

It was Tenten at her debutante ball. Sixteen year old Tenten, with short hair and a smile so sweet it could give you cavities. She looked breathtaking in the dress, admittedly a lot more than Sakura did. The cut of the neck accented her large breasts, and the red made her tan look like ivory. At the time, the gown had no sleeves. Tiny lace gloves graced her delicate little hands. Sakura could see the slight bulge of muscle under the layers of silk and velvet.

She slipped the photo into her massive sleeves and headed for the castle.

**.-.-.-.**

The main hall, with a floor of brown swirled marble and columns along the sides, was filled with people. Two rows of the world's nobility lined the beams by the walls. Sakura's breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed nervously.

Tenten glided forward, eyes lidded as if this palace was nothing but the dirt on the back of her lacquered sandals. Five steps in, and two figures emerged from the crowd.

Uchiha Itachi, in garb of black silk embroidered with red clouds, bowed to Tenten, his eyes locked on her. The Princess lifted a hand (pale and thin, Sakura noticed…with no little amount of shock) The elder Uchiha gently took it, pressed it to his lips, and offered her his arm. Tenten laid her hand daintily on his, and he led her down the hall.

It was Sakura's turn, and Uchiha Sasuke was so beautiful she almost stopped breathing.

Sasuke was dressed in black like Itachi, his garb embroidered with golden flames, but unlike with his brother, Sasuke seemed to barely notice her there. He bowed, and kissed her hand, but not once did he look her in the eye, or, for the matter, look at her at all. Sasuke led her slowly behind Itachi, his eyes fixed on his brother's back in a blank stare. Behind them were Hana and Kiba, both making no eye contact like mere servants. Ayame and Kikumo, escorted by ANBU, took up the rear.

As she glided demurely behind Tenten, she followed her fiancé's example and fixed her unsteady gaze on the back of Tenten's robe. She was glad her dress didn't stick to her legs, for they were shaking roughly. She wondered how Tenten could walk in the stiff tube of the kimono, then noticed how gently and slowly Itachi guided her. They seemed to be making conversation, but their lips moved so fast she couldn't hear a thing.

Sakura swallowed, and slowly slid her eyes right towards Sasuke's face. Immediately, his black orbs snapped towards her. Her eyes quickly changed course and found the floor, a little frightened and a little more disappointed, before realizing that this was impolite. Instead, she looked around her.

They were nearly at the end of the hall now, where the purely ceremonial thrones sat. There, beside the alcove of their golden pedestals, were faces she recognized.

First, there was Hyuuga Neji, dressed in white robes embroidered with silver dragons. His strange opal eyes were fixed on Tenten, and Sakura caught the glimmer of his brain working hard (_for what reason?_ she wondered,) at whatever he was thinking of.

Next, there was the Crown Prince of Kusa. He stood right beside one of the thrones, his shock of blond hair a beacon for attention, dressed in pale gold robes lined in yellow and white sheer. His blue eyes caught hers, and he must have spotted something akin to fear there, for he grinned at her and made a little thumbs-up sign where no one else could see it. Hyuuga Neji, however, _did_ notice, and his eyes traveled slowly to Sakura before immediately losing interest and reattaching themselves to Tenten. Between him and Naruto stood a slim girl with blue-black hair and white eyes, in a blue and silver kimono: Hyuuga Hinata, the former's cousin and the latter's fiancee.

Behind the Kusa boy, a few feet off, a blonde woman stood in the shadows in a silver cheongsam dress. Lady Tsunade, Naruto's caretaker, and apparently Sakura's future master.

A redhead with a vicious glare stood between Neji and Naruto. His green eyes, so much like hers, blankly glared in no direction. His robes were red and black, strangely shaped, and a massive gourd lay strapped to his back. He looked a lot calmer than he was in a picture of a younger version Sakura had seen. This was Sabaku no Gaara, the King and Kage of Sand. Flanking him on either side was the strange man with the painted face in a black cat suit, and Temari, dressed in a daring purple sheer number, showing a good three inches of cleavage and a _lot_ more thigh. She was grinning at Tenten, and there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that they were good friends.

Seething on the other side of the thrones was Lady Tsuchi Kin. She wore a dress mildly like hers. It was sleeveless, its heart-like cut lined with ruffles. The sleeves were puffed for half a foot, then clung to her arms and gathered at her wrists. The cuffs came out like Sakura's. A cross corset adorned the front of her gown, just like with the red one. A gathering of ruffles set off her waist. The skirt of the gown had an overlay that pulled back to either side and was tied with two large bows that spewed lace. Under the overlay was a pleated fabric. There was another long bow that graced her tiny waist, and triple string of pearls around her neck. The whole arrangement was in shades of white and grey, and her inky black locks spilled down her back unchecked, a spot of "color" in the dismal hues of her gown.

Beside her stood a tall man in full body bandages, a grey robe hanging on his tall frame, a prosthetic arm where his left appendage should have been. This must be Lord Dosu, Sakura thought, as the man deigned to look anywhere but at his wife. He was well built, and several locks of onyx hair showed in the gaps between the bandages. Sakura assumed he must have been handsome before the accident. On Kin's other side stood a spiky-black-haired man in a similar robe, a grin on his face, two of his fingers on Kin's waist, though she was on the arm of Dosu. Dosu blatantly ignored this obvious threat on territory by the man who could _only _be his brother Zaku.

As they stopped before King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto, Sakura's eyes caught on a strange person standing to the right of Hyuuga Neji. He had a bowl-shaped hair cut, black; his eyebrows were unreasonably thick, as well as his lashes; his eyes were round and staring admiringly at her. His robes were of a vibrant neon green color. He was hard not to notice.

He smiled at her with a salute when she looked at him. She twitched her lips back--he was kind of gross looking--before turning to the throne.

"Welcome, Yamanaka Tenten-san, Yamanaka Sakura-san," Fugaku intoned. Sakura noticed Mikoto's eyes lower at her name, and flinched. What was wrong? Did she know?

"Please make yourself at home in our Court and in our Castle. Your presence is celebrated here."

Tenten curtsied lightly. Itachi escorted her to the pair of thrones on Fugaku's right. Itachi sat Tenten politely beside his father, the seat that should have been for him, instead taking the seat on the farthest right.

What a gentleman, Sakura thought with a small smile. Mikoto, seeing this, developed a happier expression. It was obvious that the Uchiha now wished for a union between Sakura's "sister" and their older son.

"Yamanaka Sakura-san."

Sakura's eyes moved and fixed on Fugaku's dark ones. She felt like she was sinking in those bottomless pools.

There was a long silence. She couldn't breathe.

Finally, Fugaku smiled and stood. Sakura started and curtsied deeply. Fugaku lifted her cheek and smiled down at him warmly, the edges of his eyes crinkling in that fatherly way.

"You are _most_ welcome, my dear."

Sasuke abruptly copied Itachi in seating manners, on his mother's left, sending glares Itachi's way that his brother peacefully ignored. Everyone applauded loudly for at least three minutes. There was more scattered clapping as Fugaku helped Mikoto up, and they began some boring speech that Sakura tuned out. Suddenly, the nervous feeling at the pit of her stomach increased.

All these people.

She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. What if they found out? What if something terrible happened? What if Sasuke felt something incredibly wrong? What if he already _knew _Ino? Liked her better? Hated Sakura? Wanted divorce? What if Ino came back and claimed what was hers? What if someone slipped up and revealed the truth? What if someone _purposefully _revealed the truth? What would she do? What _could _she do? She would lose all face, and her parents would be shamed. There would be war, terrible war. And all these _people…_what did they expect of her?

What would she do?

There was a poke on her shoulder. She turned slightly to see that Prince Naruto had squatted between her throne and Sasuke's, much to the disapproval of Tsunade a little ways off. One of Sasuke's dark eyes was watching him with mild curiosity and a little caution. Naruto ignored him.

"Oi, Sakura-chan," a wide, warm smile spread across his face. "Don't worry, we're not so bad. It's okay! I'll be your friend, don't worry about it!"

She found a smile push at her lips at this young man's earnest welcome. Did he know what it was like to feel like this? No family around, strangers everywhere? When almost no one cared if you lived or died?

"Th-thank you, Uzumaki-sama," she murmured gratefully. His face fell.

"None of that crap! Call me Naruto. And don't you freak out about Sasuke. He's just a cold ice block of a monkey's bastard. God knows how he's still alive, he's so freezing cold I swear his blood woulda froze up solid by now! And hey, if you get sick of him, you can come with me back to Kusa. I'll take care of ya, Sakura-chan, never fear!"

Sakura's fiancé turned away with a small "hn". Naruto gave her one last grin, before rising and once again pretending to listen to what the Uchiha were saying.

Sakura smiled.

_I have a new beta, **aznqt392. -Out-of-Inspiration-** is awesome, but it was too big a workload (in my opinion). My old beta **luvless191** has become my pecking muse. Anyone else interested in my job offers (beta, pecking muse, co-writer and editor), just PM me._

_Sorry for the delay! R&R please!_

**EDIT: **Thanks to** Tenshi no Hana-chan **for informing me that Sasuke's mother's name is in fact Mikoto and not Koharu. As she said, "_by some strange coincidence, when I was wandering around after reading your fic, I found the name Koharu on the list of Naruto characters. It was named "Koharu U." I thought I may have been wrong about the name of Sasuke's mother (which is Mikoto), but when I did a bit of research, it was actually "Koharu  
Utatane," the Sandaime's old teammate - the old woman who keeps opposing  
Tsunade._"

Well, I found the name Koharu by looking on the Naruto characters list. Turns out, I was wrong D

Thanks, Tenshi!


	5. Evanescence Part One

**.-.-.-.**

**EVANESCENCE - Part One**

**.-.-.-.**

"There's a ball tonight" were the first words thrown at Sakura (courtesy of Tenten) the second they entered their rooms. But when the pink-haired girl turned to look at the princess, she saw Tenten had began ignoring her and instead ordering people around at the speed of light, so said pink-haired girl brushed the statement off and darted quickly away from where Tenten and Hana were shouting unpacking orders to the servants.

**.-.-.-.**

The Uchiha had given the "sisters" adjoining rooms. For each there was a bedroom, a living room, a sitting room, a study and a bathing chamber, all decorated in the ancient styles with dark carved furniture and sliding screen doors. From the main entrance that led to the wing, there was a corridor which ended in a large general receiving hall they shared, which also served as an area between their respective spaces. A set of French doors on each side of the hall, the only modern thing in the entire wing, connected their living quarters to the hall. After a peek, Sakura realized that Tenten's rooms were bigger than hers.

A set of double oak doors were placed at the far back of the receiving hall, in a back corridor accessed by a sliding screen. It connected Sakura and Tenten's bedchambers. Four doors led from the back corridor to the rather large rooms of Hana, Ayame, and Kikumo. Between and in the middle of them was a staircase that led up into their dressers' quarters, and another that led down to the servants' quarters. Kiba stayed in a room adjoining to Tenten's bedroom, for reasons Sakura could not comprehend. She decided it was for Tenten's protection as the (albeit unwilling) First Princess of Mizu, and put it from her mind.

When she finally returned to the main hall, trunks and baggage was scattered everywhere, the majority still half full, and Tenten was having a seizure.

"This is a mess," she breathed in anxiety when Sakura reappeared at her side, "An absolute _mess. _People," she now addressed the hordes of servants the Uchiha had given them, "You seem not to understand that we have a goddamn BALL in two hours. If ANYTHING is placed where our ladies can't find it, you will regret it. _Every last inch of you will regret it._"

Several of them flinched. A few muttered, shooting the princess horrified glances. Many lingered in the hall, waiting for the three ladies-in-waiting to direct them. A few were slacking off in the corner, shuffling around a little only when they believed Tenten could see them.

They underestimated her.

"GET MOVING, YOU DAMN SLUGS!!" she roared. "Two hours. TWO HOURS!! You'd BETTER be done in twenty or I'll rip out all your hair--yes, YOU--and I'll knit myself a sweater!!"

Said slacking servants cowered in terror.

"Whoa," Tenten put a hand to her chest. "What was that? Was that GOD speaking THROUGH ME? _GO_!!"

The half dozen women scampered off rapidly. Sakura thought if ever it was possible to actually have a sweat drop on her head, this would be the time.

"Tenten," she coughed, "Calm down. We have two hours to prepare, we'll be fine."

"Sakura," Tenten turned with an exasperated sigh. "We only have _two hours._ TWO HOURS!!"

Sakura stared at her blankly.

"Two hours, Sakura. One hundred and twenty minutes. Seven thousand and two hundred seconds."

The stare did not waver. "That's amazing math, Ten."

"Sakura, we have to bathe, lotion, perfume, facial mask, mani-pedi, have our hair and makeup done, get dressed and be in the ballroom in only TWO HOURS."

"Tenten, blabber all you want, but I still don't get it. Two hours is ages. Years. I could give _birth_ in two hours."

Tenten sighed a long suffering sigh.

"Do you remember when we set off?"

"Yeah."

"You got bathed, perfumed, dressed, and had your hair and face done, right?"

"Yeah."

"How long did that take?"

"…"

There was silence for a few moments. Tenten counted in her head.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Oh, _God!_"

Sakura had a horrified expression on her face. Tenten snorted.

"Your face is turning fifty different colors."

"Oh my God, oh my God, what are we doing just standing here?!" Sakura shrieked. "We can bathe while they're unpacking! Come on! We'll have Kiba look for the dresses. Where's the stupid hairdresser? Where's the stupid stylist? Where's the goddamn facialist? WHERE THE HELL _IS _EVERYONE?!"

Tenten grinned in a pleased manner as Sakura yanked on her arm and dragged her to her bathroom, declaring there was no time to run two baths and where the hell was Hana?

_Finally._

**.-.-.-.**

Tenten was dressed before Sakura had the cucumbers peeled off her eyelids.

The brunette was wearing a simple gown. It was a deep navy, low cut, and sleeveless, tight at her bosom, stomach, and hips, and a flaring skirt.

Sakura snorted.

"What?" Tenten demanded.

"It's too simple," She said. "Nothing's ever that simple--at least, not on _you._"

"Don't we learn fast," Tenten muttered dryly. She turned to the hairdressers, looking herself in the mirror.

"I think I'll cut my hair," she said plainly.

The head hairdresser almost fainted. "Mademoiselle! Your hair makes my living!"

Tenten grinned and sat down in front of the mirror.

"Then do your job."

Sakura was ushered into Tenten's bedroom, where her feet and nails were shined and painted a light violet-blue sheen. Then Ayame stepped aside and showed her the dress.

It was a simple dress. If came off one shoulder, clinging tightly to hips and waist, loosening a little mid-thigh with the appearance of an insanely high slit. A gathering of white chiffon lace secured at the back of her waist, looped over the strapped shoulder, was pinned again in the front at the waist with a large purple silk lily, and then lined the slit all the way to the hem.

The dress came with elbow length white kidskin gloves and four-inch glass heels, but this was of no interest to Sakura. When she reached forward in wonder and felt the silky material, it was not the design on her mind.

The gown was a flowing, rich, light blue the color of the sky on a clear day.

"Ino…"

**.-.-.-.**

Sakura rushed out of the room fully dressed, her unstraightened hair flying behind her. She paused at the doorway, taking in the view before her. Mentally, she corrected the image of Tenten in her mind. The woman was not a tomboy. She was the most beautiful, elegant creature Sakura had ever seen.

Over the navy gown, Tenten had a cheongsam number that ended just short of the knee. It was an ivory white, with a dark and icy blue pattern of chrysanthemums and swirls, and an inlay the color of pearl. A foot-wide silk shawl of midnight blue hung from elbow to elbow, the ends nearly touching the floor. She wore several silver and navy bangles on her wrists, and her chestnut hair had been swept up into two discs, the excess hair flowing free and laying flat against her back. Between the two discs of her hair lay an icy blue comb decorated with white and blue flowers. On her forehead, a silver chain with a pearl drop.

"Wow," Sakura breathed. "You clean up so well, Tenten. One day I'll kill you for your prettiness."

Tenten snorted.

And just like that, Sakura thought dryly, The spell is broken.

"You're no less gorgeous, Sakura," the older girl told her. "You need clothes that are made for _you_. They accent _only_ the positive and cover the negative. For now you're wearing Ino's gowns, but Tadakichi-san is working on your new collection."

"Oh," said Sakura dumbly.

The head hairdresser sat her down in front of the mirror. She smoothed the top foot of her hair and fixed the two locks framing her face right in front of her ears with camouflaged pink pins, letting the rest flow down in fashionably messy waves. The rest she pinned up into a massive updo held in place by what looked like a thin silver crown. The drop placed on her forehead was a sapphire.

Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror as two women painted her face. How _far_ she had come from that little girl who lived life as she pleased and did everything she wanted. That child was gone, Sakura knew. In its place sat the creature in the mirror.

The creature sat tall and proud. She was dignified and grand, noble and regal. She was beautiful, she was proper, she knew the etiquette by memory, performed it with perfection. She did the best she could, and was not ashamed of herself or her efforts. She would never fall short of expectation. She will never lose face or honor.

Sakura was a woman.

**.-.-.-.**

Yet again, Sakura, Tenten and their entourage was greeted at the head of the staircase by the two Uchiha brothers. Itachi wore red clouds on black again, this time in the formality of silk, but Sasuke wore black embroidered with silver and navy. Tenten smiled as Sasuke moved to stand within the vicinity of Sakura, commenting, "Now, don't you two look quite the pair," but all Sakura received for her beautifying effort was Sasuke's impassive face.

Itachi offered his arm to Tenten. She took it graciously.

"You look lovely tonight, Yamanaka-sama," he told her with a hint of a smile lingering on his lips. Tenten blushed demurely and murmured a thank you. Unnoticed by everyone but Hana, Kiba tensed.

"We shall enter first, ototou-kun," Itachi addressed his brother with a meaningful look, "Please do not embarrass us by neglecting Yamanaka-san tonight."

With a meaningful glance, Itachi led Tenten to where the announcer stood, before descending.

The French horns blared as everyone below paused to look up at the newcomers.

"His Most Royal Highness Uchiha Itachi-sama, First Prince of our country of Honoo, Duke of Hirouku, Baron of Hiei, Lord of Shizumasa and Baron of Itouku, and Her Most Reverend Majesty Yamanaka Tenten-sama, First Princess of Mizu, Duchess of Milan, and Archduchess of Cairou."

Murmurs spread through the crowd below.

"What an attractive couple."

"Uchiha-sama is quite the handsome young man, isn't he?"

"I'd never seen Tenten-sama dress like that."

"Yamanaka-san is outdoing herself tonight!"

"What a wonderful thing it would be if they were engaged, Mikoto!"

"Yes, what a wonderful thing."

"Ah, a sight for sore eyes, those young ones…"

As the silhouettes of Tenten and Itachi disappeared, Sakura took the younger Uchiha's arm and glided forwards. She looked up at Sasuke's face to find a concentrated, curious expression on his face, his eyes fixed upon someone in the crowd. Sakura followed his steady gaze, finding only Tenten and Itachi. Shaking her head gently, she set her green eyes on the floor.

The horns blared yet again, the one on the right shooting its black right down Sakura's ear. She flinched, and, instinctively, Sasuke steadied her. She murmured a quiet thank-you before the pompous announcer opened his large mouth.

"His Royal Highness Uchiha Sasuke-sama, Second Prince of you country of Honoo, Archduke of Hirouku, Archduke of Maien, and Lord of Takanari, and Her Royal Highness Yamanaka Sakura-sama, Archduchess of Milan, Archduchess of Cairou, and Archduchess of Mizuno."

_Mizuno_. The estate where she had grown up, where she had played, where there was okaa-san, and otou-san. She pictured their faces in her head, their silhouettes clear yet their features blurring. Sakura squeezed the images from her eyes.

The couple hit the marble floors seconds later. Immediately the murmurs, the music and the dancing resumed. King Fugaku and his wife sat on twin thrones below canopies of red velvet across the room.

Sasuke impatiently led Sakura to the middle of the room, where a circle had been cleared for dances. Most of the couples left the floor, but for Tenten and Itachi. The orchestra paused in their interpretation of Beethoven's _Surprise Symphony_, and began sliding their bows across strings in an eerie, sharp piece.

Mozart's _Lacrimosa._

Sasuke took her hand gently, keeping his eyes fixed above her head. Sakura sighed to herself. Their wedding night was going to be interesting.

A woman in a purple and aquamarine ensemble leapt onstage. A blue velvet scarf edged with dangling gold pieces lay on her head, covering her face, but several locks of long blonde hair showed from underneath. Stepping in front of the orchestra in their second bar, she began to sing to accompany the dancing.

_Out on your own_

_Cold and alone again_

_Can this be what you really wanted, baby?_

This was nothing like the music Sakura had heard before. It was haunting…heart wrenching. As they swirled around the room, Sakura looked up to Sasuke's face.

His expression was strange. There was the impassiveness, but layered underneath was some sort of tormented feeling washing over his features, lined with traces of red hot anger.

_Blame it on me_

_Set your guilt free_

_Nothing can hold you back now…_

He was clenching his teeth now. In their proximity, she could hear the grinding of molar on molar. Sakura's heart quivered, and she felt herself lift the hand that rested on his shoulder and cover his eyes. He started for a moment, staring at her blankly through the spaces between her thin fingers, before obliging reluctantly and leading her blindly.

_Now that you're gone_

_Feel like myself again_

_Grieving the things I can't repent, and willing_

_To let you blame it on me_

_And set your guilt free, honey, I don't want to hold you back now, love…_

"Excuse me," he said suddenly. It was the first time she had heard him speak. His voice was a smooth baritone, pleasant, but the tone was cold, uneven, and bitter. She shifted them towards the edge of the crowd, slowing their pace.

"Please excuse me, Yamanaka-san."

_I can't change who I am_

_Not this time, I won't lie to keep you near me and in this short life_

_There's no time to waste on giving up_

_My love wasn't enough…_

He pulled away from her in one swift motion and pushed through the crowd. As he disappeared, tracked and stalked by disapproving whispers, Sakura stood where he had left her, following the invisible trail of him in the sea of bodies.

_And you can blame it on me,_

_Just set your guilt free, honey_

_I don't wanna hold you back now, love…!_

The applause roared. Tenten, her worried eyes fixed on Sakura, quickly passed off a curtsey to Itachi that should have been a complex obeisance and rushed over.

"What just happened there?" she question sharply. "Did anything--?"

"No," Sakura replied evenly. "It's fine."

The crowd milled around them, already pairing up and swirling to the next song the royally-colored gypsy was crooning.

_Oh, I do believe_

_In all the things you say_

_What comes is better than what came before…_

_And you better come come, come come to me, better_

_Come come, come come to me better run_

_Run run, run run to me_

_Better come…_

"That's strange," Tenten's sharp eyes tried to pick out the black and silver of Sasuke's robes in the surrounding bodies. "I've never seen him lose his cool like that before." Shaking her head, she suddenly started, digging around in her sleeves.

"Here," Tenten held out a bracelet-like object. A set of twenty thin tablets were strung on a silver chain. Sakura could make out one in the shadows of Tenten's sleeves.

"It's your dance-card," Tenten explained in undertones. "It's filled out with the names of men who want to dance with you tonight."

Tenten took off hers and showed it to Sakura. The younger girl accosted it and flipped through the tablets, making out Itachi's name seven times, Kiba's once, five names of noblemen Sakura had not met, one of Sabaku no Gaara, one of Lord Dosu, two of the thick, clear strokes of Hyuuga Neji, and surprisingly, one of Sasuke.

Tenten snatched hers back with a blush. "I have to dance with Itachi half the night," she said hurriedly. "A round with most of the nobles, and then me and Dosu take turns bitching about Kin." She tucked her dance card away just as Itachi found her again. Then she was swept away into the milling bodies around them, and Sakura was left to peruse her own dance cards.

Not surprisingly, Sasuke's name was on a good deal of them. Four of her dances were filled by Prince Naruto, whom she had spotted dancing with a white-eyed girl who could only be his fiancée, Hyuuga Hinata, two by the name of a stranger, one by Neji, and one by each Sand male. As the current dance was to be filled by Sasuke, Sakura turned to make for a corner, only to have the song end.

The shock of blond hair that was Naruto bowed to Hinata, whispered something to her, and darted for Sakura just as Sasuke reappeared at her side.

"Heeey, Sasuke-teme!" the blonde barked with a grin, taking Sasura's arm. "Ya missed out, sorry, bud. Guess you'll have to sit out on this one."

_Play gound school bell rings…again…_

_Rain clouds come to play…again…_

"On the contrary," Sasuke replied blandly, looking even more uncomfortable as he did while dancing with Sakura. "Have you seen Temari-san?"

"Nope."

"She'll find me, then."

And just as the words left his mouth, Temari appeared in a little cocktail dress the colors of violets.

"Come on, pretty boy," she huffed at him, "Let's get this over with."

Naruto grinned at Sakura, who smiled back, and led her to the middle of the dance floor. The gypsy swayed slowly in the middle of her song, looking reluctant. Finally, she settled.

_Has no one told you she's not breathing?_

_Hello:_

_I'm your mind_

_Giving you someone to talk to…_

_Hello…_

Unconsciously, Sakura's eyes drifted to Sasuke. He was dutifully sweeping Temari across the room, but his eyes were still closed and jaw still stiff.

"Ah, Uzuma--um, Naruto-kun…"

The blonde followed her gaze.

"Oh."

Sakura pulled her eyes from her fiancé and focused instead on her partner.

"What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto looked at her strangely, then laughed. "Sasuke-_kun_? Wow, nobody's called him that since--"

He paused.

"Well, um, this is kinda hard for me to say, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded understandingly. "He's my fiancé, though," she stated matter-of-factly, "I need to know things."

Naruto sighed.

"It's the music," he explained, "It makes him uncomfortable. And if you look at Mikoto-kaa, you'll see she's not so jolly either."

_If I smile and don't believe_

_Soon I know I'll wake from this dream_

_Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken_

_Hello:_

_I'm the lie_

_Living for you so you can hide…don't cry_

Sure enough, Mikoto was looking sullen and lifeless in her seat, her hand trembling gently in her husband's comforting grasp.

"Why?"

Naruto sighed again.

"Well, it's hard to say. Just…well…" he paused. She begged him with her eyes. He relented.

"Before Sasuke, after Itachi, Fugaku-tou and Mikoto-kaa had another kid. A baby girl. She was two years older than Sasuke, and I remember she was really pretty, and really nice, and really sweet. She had dark hair, dark eyes, but the palest, smoothest skin…kind of like Snow White. When I was little, I'd live here for months on end, and she'd always play with me, even though I'm...well, a freak.

"Sasuke and his sister were really really close. Itachi was always off training, or studying, and I'm sure you know how the kids here in this family are raised. She was the best big sister anyone could have, and spoiled Sasuke tons.

"Well, one day when Sasuke was twelve, he was out with Itachi, and they were hiking. When they came back the whole compound was in black, screaming, in chaos, crying…I remember, I was there. Itachi knew something was wrong, so he grabbed Sasuke and made for their parents' room...and there on the bed was that fourteen-year-old girl. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. Mikoto-kaa was in a little ball on the floor, crying her eyes out, and Fugaku-tou was just standing over his daughter.

"Sasuke, of course, was completely destroyed. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't speak, and wouldn't come out of his room for weeks. They still don't know what she died from. It wasn't poison. She wasn't sick. They found her cold in her bedroom in the afternoon. She was...so young. It was such a short time ago...and...well..."

Naruto stared right into his partner's horrified eyes.

"Her name was Uchiha Sakura."

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping_

_Hello, I'm still here_

_All that's left of yesterday…_

**.-.-.-.**

_The songs used were Lacrymosa and Hello by Evanescence. Happier music will be coming in Part Two._

_Note:_ 7/29/08 _Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura's ages were changed from three and five to twelve and fourteen due to plot conflicts. _


	6. Evanescence Part Two

_Saving the world from bad music one fanfiction at a time! Hehe. Check these out, they're absolutely beautiful. Except for_ Break the Sky_. That's just fun._

**.-.-.-.**

**EVANESCENCE - Part Two**

**.-.-.-.**

The shocked pounding in Sakura's head did not even have the decency to pause as the song climaxed, dropped and ended in one fell swoop. She faintly remembered applause, then Naruto escorting her to a seat on the side of the room and turning towards a green-clad male. She didn't know who her next partner was…maybe Green Man, but since they conveniently stayed away that moment, she gratefully took the time to sooth the rearing monster of a migraine headed her way. She distinctly recalled that next dance she had was with Gaara, the Kage and King of Sand, and tried to shake her head clear before failing miserably and praying that he was a nice person and wouldn't hate Mizu forever for one discrepancy.

_And since the roof fell in, I'll lean on what matters_

_Caught in the slightest wind, everything else unravels_

_You're standing in my doorway, seven cities ago_

_The days are racing, but you come back too slow..._

Gaara found her a few seconds into the gypsy's next ballad. Kneeling down in front of her, he peered between the arms and fingers that covered her face and dug into her hair. She glimpsed his green eyes for a split second while he accessed her situation and stiffened visibly.

Gaara did not know what to do. Emotionally unstable people were not his forte--he used to be one of them, and he also used to kill them. After dawdling on the matter for a few more seconds, he turned and promptly sat down beside her, crossing his arms and staring nonchalantly at nothing. The pink-haired girl beside him relaxed.

_You're the finest thing I've ever done, the hurricane I'll never outrun_

_I could wait around for the dust to still, but I don't believe it ever will_

"My brother," he began in a smooth monotone, startling her for a moment, "can arrange to occupy your next dance so that Hyuuga Neji does not enquire."

Sakura blinked and lifted her head out of her arms.

"Sabaku-sama…"

Gaara hesitated, his green eyes uncertain, not knowing how to continue his proffered sentiment.

"Would…would you like that, Yamanaka-san?"

She smiled slowly, wiping an eye ungracefully with the back of her hand.

"Yes, please, Sabaku-sama."

Gaara paused.

"…Gaara."

Sakura started, cocking her head, before comprehending. "Gaara-sama."

Gaara nodded at her, and she scrambled up to deliver a quick, clumsy curtsy before falling back into her chair. She leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Gaara smiled faintly as he left in search of Kankuro, feeling a little proud of himself.

His people skills were getting much better.

**.-.-.-.**

Naruto paused in the dance when Sabaku no Gaara brushed past him. Excusing himself from his fiancée, he followed.

"…to Hyuuga," the redhead was impatiently explaining to his vividly (freakishly, Naruto thought) painted brother. "She's having some sort of attack."

"Hey, Gaara," the blond ejaculated in a melodramatic whisper, "What's up? I've never seen you walk fast."

"Uchiha's girl," Gaara didn't even bother to turn, waving his hand in a whirly pattern. "A mess." He glared at Kankuro. "_Go._"

The older Sand sibling nodded, an annoyed expression on his face. "This blows. I kinda wanted to meet the girl."

"Hey, Freak-face," Naruto snapped uncharacteristically, "Go before the dance ends and we turn fifty, will ya?"

Kankuro scowled at him and stormed off.

"Gaara," Naruto beckoned, and the redhead followed.

The two adeptly slipped past the milling nobles bordering the main dance floor, maneuvered through the labyrinth of tables and pushed past a set of French doors to the balcony outside.

"You told her?" was Gaara's prompt remark.

"Yeah," Naruto ran a hand through his mussed hair. "Probably shouldn't have, huh? Sasuke-teme's gonna be pissed, isn't he."

"I believe Uchiha took you aside earlier especially to avoid this undesirable…situation?"

"He made it crystal _freaking_ clear."

"Then it is best if…news of this did not reach his ears?"

Naruto blinked and stared at Gaara's impassive face for a few seconds as his suggestion clicked.

"Aww, Gaara! You're awesome, man, did ya know that?!"

Gaara patted Naruto uncomfortably on the back as the blonde attacked the antisocial redhead with a bear hug.

"I would advise you to try have her out of the room up before the song ends," he said stiffly, extracting himself. "I think it best if you trade a few of your dances as well, assuming you're occupying a lot of her time as you characteristically would."

"Yeah," Naruto straightened himself. "Yeah, thanks, Gaara."

He nodded as the blond boy darted away from the terrace, locating Hinata within seconds with his Super Fiancée Radar and guided her towards Sakura. The white-clad Hyuuga girl stuttered and stumbled, and led the pink-haired girl discreetly from prying eyes and curious onlookers into some alcove where she would use her Mad Hyuuga Skills to perfect her again. Naruto then sped off to locate Neji, who was now developing a rather annoyed disposition at being constantly interrupted.

Gaara sighed, shook his head, composed himself, and began looking for Temari. Even the Hyuuga's Specially Honed Female Skills won't fix the girl that fast.

He sure was feeling sympathetic today.

**.-.-.-.**

_You'll never see the courage I know, i__t's color's richness won't appear within your view_

_I'll never glow the way that you glow, your prescence dominates the judgement made on you_

_But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights_

__

The shades and shadows undulate in my perception

My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights

I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you

The music wouldn't stop. Everything swished around loosely in Sakura's head, mixing like some unnatural concoction her mother used to have her drink when she was sick as a girl.

Pale, cool hands and a soothing voice smoothed her hair, smoothed her face. Hyuuga Hinata wet her palms and passed them over Sakura's face, determined to rub away the mascara stains, and oh, everything was smudging, she'll have to take everything off…did she have the right things on her? She usually did, things like this happened often at parties where Tenten-chan and Neji-nii-san were in the same room…

"Y-Yamanaka-sama," she whispered gently, "Yamanaka-sama, I'm H-Hyuuga H-Hinata…"

Sakura turned to the panicked Hinata.

"Hyuuga-sama?"

"C-call me H-Hinata…" Hinata turned as the curtains over the entrance of the lounge were lifted. The heart-wrenching music seeped in for a second, and Sakura reeled from the sound.

_You'll say you understand, but you don't understand_

_You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye_

_But never is a promise, and you can't afford to lie_

"Ah, Tenten-chan…Temari-san…"

Hinata floated nervously towards the older women. Snatches drifted back to Sakura. "S-sorry…this is…inconvenience…I…take care of it…"

"Nah," Temari grinned and waved off Hinata's apologies. "I was supposed to dance with Zaku, and the bastard's drunk and feeling lucky. Ten wasn't so lucky…Itachi, huh?"

Both Tenten and Hinata turned ten shades of red at the remark. Sakura, however, finally realized Tenten had arrived to witness her failure. She leapt up from her half-sitting half-lying position.

"Tenten!"

Her head suddenly cleared as she focused on her cousin. The brunette clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Stupid girl," Tenten said with a smile, "Don't ask Naruto questions. He knows too much." She turned to the white eyed girl, who now stood demurely by Sakura on the ottoman. "Hinata-chan, what else do you need?"

The girl started, reaching into her kimono sleeve and retrieving a small jar of powder, a stick of kohl and a pad of blush.

"I…I bring them according to what you like to wear, Tenten-chan…" Hinata felt much more relieved now…if Tenten and Temari were here, the girl would be fine.

Tenten blushed deeper as Temari snorted. "Don't listen to her, Sakura," the brunette lifted Sakura's face in her small hands and tutted.

"Come on," she tapped the younger girl's cheek in mock chastisement. "Suck it up. You've got girls out there who'd love to snatch up Uchiha if you turn out a failure. You've got people out there _expecting things of you._ Hell, you've got Uchiha Sasuke _himself_ out there probably thinking you're a wuss or something. Come on, girl. _The Yamanaka are never weak._"

Sakura's eyes widened as she took in the hidden message. She shook her foggy head, clearing her thoughts and setting her mind.

She was _not_ going to lose in front of…in front of everyone.

She was _not_ going to lose.

"Tenten-chan, sorry."

She stood and brushed off her gown. The blonde woman, Temari, grinned at her.

"Good girl," she smiled in approval. "Just like Ten."

Sakura sat still and contemplative as Hinata began removing ruined makeup from her face. Temari and Tenten started wresting the large silver restraining ornament from her hair, producing brushes, combs and pins from under skirts and in the folds of sashes. As the Hyuuga girl gently relined Sakura's eyes, Temari bit her lip nervously.

"Ten, this is impossible. We'll need an hour to get it back in shape."

Tenten snapped her fan and clipped Sakura on the side of the head with it. "Stupid girl," she snorted. "Next time, don't dig your fingers into your head. Ruins the hair and ruins the nails." She walked a circle around her cousin, tapping her well-shaped chin with the tip of her fan in thought.

Ten seconds later, Tenten was still circling, her brow furrowed deep enough to plant seeds in. Hinata had finished with the makeup, and now sat nervously next to Sakura in anticipation.

Finally, the brunette bent down low. She reached under the hem of her dress, pulling it up to her knee, revealing thigh-high white leather boots. Hinata turned purple.

"T-Tenten-chan! Tha-that's inappropriate!"

Tenten stuck her tongue out at the younger girl and pulled from her boot a kunai knife and a packet of gel.

"No," Temari shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no!"

**.-.-.-.**

_I hear them coming, the blue parade_

_They're throwing snowflakes and singing my name_

_In deep blue voices, I hear them say: there's good love out there, just you wait_

_Oh, hold on, I'm coming...don't let anybody in..._

"Where the _hell_ you been?!" Kankuro glared at his sister with a scowl. Temari turned snappishly and glared.

"It was a fucking job well done, you little shit hole. One more word and I'll pull your intestines out through your ass."

Kankurou snorted and turned away.

"Whatever."

His eyes widened a little as he spotted a blot of pink hair.

"Shit, sis," he hissed at her, "It only took that long?!"

Temari refused to answer, glaring at her brother and before turning and eyeing her creation proudly.

Sakura and Tenten were at one of the tables by the opposite wall, accompanied by a nervous looking Naruto and a bored looking Itachi, making polite conversation. Sakura's hair was a few inches shorter, layered expertly, and tied up high on the back of her head in a glossy ponytail, fresh white lilies from a vase surrounding the base. It was constantly hitting Naruto in the nose, and the blonde man was sniffing and scratching it periodically. Unless somebody had clearly noticed and followed the group, no one would have known the girl had been having a panic attack.

_Now leaves are falling from the mercy tree _

_The blue surrounds me so I can get some sleep and_

_We don't need stars now cause all they say is there's good love out there, just you wait _

_Oh, hold on, I'm coming...don't let anybody in..._

_Oh, hold on, I'm ready...lock the doors and wait...for me...  
_

The dancers stopped and applauded as the music came to a soft, simple end. Naruto waved goodbye to Sakura and raced towards Hinata, bowling over several people and almost causing the white-eyed girl to spill her drink. Itachi bowed politely to Tenten, kissed her hand and vanished.

Hyuuga Neji magically appeared beside Sakura, bending to speak to her, before taking Tenten's hand (Temari observed a well-hidden blush on her friend's cheeks) and disappearing into the milling crowds. Sakura waited patiently, one gloved hand propping up her head and the other casually stirring her cocktail. Gaara approached a few seconds later, a confused look on his face. Sakura's head tilted, a few words were exchanged, and the table was abandoned as the green-eyed couple positioned themselves for a waltz.

_Before the world dies at my door..._

_I'll break the sky, for you and I are going nowhere_

_Kiss goodbye a dozen times before we get there_

_Why do I need anyone else when I can break the sky myself?_

Temari started, before nudging Kankurou.

"Didn't Gaara already dance with Yamanaka Junior?" she whispered, brushing off a green-clad man like a fly.

"Yeah," Kankurou blinked. "It's Hyuuga's turn…"

"He just went off with Tenten."

"Temari-san--"

"Gimme a minute, Lee, you fap."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Temari-san--"

"Just a SECOND, Rock Lee, good Lord above get a grip!"

"Do you think…he traded?"

"For Tenten?"

"…"

"…"

"Temari-san--"

"Oh for _HEAVEN'S SAKE_!"

**.-.-.-.**

_We are the lucky ones, we shine like a thousand suns_

_When all of the color runs together_

_I'll keep you company, in one glorious harmony_

_Waltzing with destiny forever_

_Dancing into the night, underneath the moon's shining surprise_

_Turning me into the light…_

_Time dancers whirling past, I gaze through the looking glass_

_And feel just beyond my grasp is heaven_

_Sacred geometry where movement is poetry_

_Visions of you and me forever_

_Dancing into the night, underneath the moon's shining surprise_

_Turning me into the light…_

_Dancing into the night, underneath the moon's shining surprise_

_Let the dark waltz begin, oh let me whirl let me spin_

_Let it take me all night, turning me into the light…_

**.-.-.-.**

At near midnight, Sakura met Lee.

"Sakura-san!" the Green Beast popped up beside her.

Sakura's eye twitched as she took in the greasy bowl-cut, thick eye brows and round fishlike eyes. Inside, she composed herself.

"Yes, ah…?"

"I am Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji-sama's oldest and most trusted friend and confidante!" the youth grinned, revealing his freakishly neat white teeth. "You are as beautiful as an angel! Come with me away from the cold vermin that is Uchiha Sasuke! I will protect you forever!"

"…ah," Sakura didn't know what to say, as No, You Freak, Go Away would be incredibly rude.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her fiancé accost Tenten.  
As Rock Lee opened his mouth and began vivaciously declaring the undying ever-burning flame of his love again, Sakura tuned him out and watched Tenten excuse herself from Kiba and move towards a hallway. Kiba grabbed Sasuke's arm and growled something before Sasuke wrenched his arm away and followed her.

"--like the blossoms on a field or valley in springtime--"

"Lee-san," Sakura interrupted abruptly, not taking her eyes off the two's retreating backs, "Would you deign excuse me for just a moment?

Lee paused, blinked at her, and answered earnestly, "I would wait forever, Sakura-san."

Sakura smiled politely and glided towards the hallway, where Kiba was waiting impatiently.

"Hey," she grinned up at him. "Where'd Tenten go?"

Kiba lifted his eyes from glaring at the floor towards the hallway for a moment before resuming his task of boring a hole into the marble with his eyes.

"Um, thanks," Sakura patted him on the arm and darted away.

**.-.-.-.**

Sakura reminded herself of her hatred for long, dimly lit hallways for the fiftieth time since she entered this particular one. She couldn't hear anything, and could hardly see anything…only turns, side halls, sliding screen doors and the dark wooden floor. She could see no end of the hall before her, hear no voices…the light of the archway where Kiba awaited Tenten's return had long vanished; the crooning voice of the gypsy and the accompanying orchestra floated to her ears every few seconds in an eerie echo, her shadow haunting her footsteps like a ghost.

As she began to lose resolve, she heard the rustling of silk. Pausing, Sakura tiptoed forward as silently as possible.

"…you comprehend, Tenten-san?" the deep rumble of Sasuke's voice reached her. Her eyes widened in surprise: this was not the cold, unattached voice she knew, it was dark and almost predatory.

At the sound of a door sliding open and footsteps, she ducked into a side hall. She saw two shadows exit the room against whose outer wall Sakura's back was now pressed.

"Sasuke-san," Tenten's voice was laced with worry, fright and nervousness. "This is _most_ inappropriate of you."

"Ya-ma-na-ka Ten-ten-san," Sasuke voice slid over the syllables of her cousin's name teasingly. "Do not forget, please, that I know your secret."

A hand and a head hit the adjacent wall. Sakura's breath hitched in panic, her body instinctively trying to mold itself to the wall, wondering in frustration why it couldn't turn into metal and wood.

_He knows?! How does he…?!_

"S-Sasuke-san," Tenten's voice was small and panicked now. "I…"

"He doesn't have to know," Sasuke responded in a clipped tone. "Now, there must be something you can get for me out of Itachi, isn't there?"

There was silence, and then:

"If this is a promise you intend to keep, Sasuke-san, I agree."

"I'm a little tired." Sasuke voice was normal again. "I'll retire. Good night, Yamanaka-san. Tell your sister I'm worn."

Sasuke's shadow began disappearing, but Tenten's did not even twitch until his footsteps disappeared around a corner.

Sakura did not even dare breathe. She waited, afraid to reveal herself. Suddenly, a muffled sob escaped Tenten's lips, as the woman's body slid down the wall in silent submission. Sakura waited as Tenten buried her face in her lab and sorted herself out.

_Don't wanna lay me down this time_

_Drown my will to fly_

_Here in the darkness I know myself,_

_Can't break free until I let it go_

_Let me go_

Sakura blinked as the music rushed down the hall in heartbreaking crescendos, accompanied by rushed, harried footsteps. Tenten started, stood, composed herself, and swiftly moved down the hall. Sakura pressed herself further into the shadows, afraid of discovery. The princess, however, bypassed her shadow without a glance.

Tenten's footsteps halted as it met with the owner of other pair. There was a cheerful, surprised greeting, dark mumblings and a startled, clipped word before Kiba's voice began shouting. Tenten screamed back in frustrated hysteria before she started running. After a short pause, Kiba ran after her.

_Darling, I forgive you after all_

_Anything is better than to be alone_

_And in the end I guess I had to fall…_

_Always find my place among the ashes_

Sakura breathed out, massaging her temple in shock at what she had heard. Sasuke knew their secret…Tenten was doing something for him to keep it down…Tenten…she needed to find Tenten. She needed to _talk_ to Tenten.

She calmed herself, tried relax and brushed off her gown, walking back down the hall as quietly as possible. Emerging from the tunnel she found Kiba and Naruto waiting for her, the former with a furious look on his face.

"Where's Tenten?" she questioned.

"You didn't see her?" Kiba gritted. "The bastard…"

"I must've missed her, I think I got lost." Sakura ignored Kiba's dark mutters and turned towards Naruto curiously. The blonde man shrugged in confusion.

"I think she went to her room. I don't really know…everyone's disappearing. Temari-san vanished a few seconds ago, the singer's just left, Neji and Itachi both disappeared, Gaara's been gone for an hour and Sasuke I haven't seen since this thing started."

"Fucking girl," Kiba suddenly ejaculated. "She's the best goddamn actress in the whole world, but like shit there's nothing wrong! I haven't seen her like that in years…"

He snarled a mix of a goodnight and a fuck-this and stormed off.

"Yeah," Naruto said after a few seconds of silence. "So Kiba's poofed too."

Sakura smiled at Naruto as calmly as she could manage and excused herself for the night. He grinned his foxy grin and bowed before darting off to locate Hinata again. Sakura turned and made a beeline for her rooms.

This needed a hell of a sorting out.

**.-.-.-.**

As Sakura opened the door, Ayame and Kikumo all but attacked her.

"Temari-san's here," they told her hurriedly. "What happened to your hair? Oh, nevermind, come on, they're waiting…a guest, or something…"

Sakura was dragged to Tenten's sitting room, where the two women were sitting calmly sipping tea.

"Ah, Sakura," the brunette smiled at her. "Come sit…" she patted the mat next to her.

"Feeling better, hon?" Temari swirled her cup. "You'd better be thankful for that hair, I don't do that at a second's calling."

The pink-haired girl blinked at the two. How could Tenten be so calm? Why was Temari here? They needed to talk, to plan, now--

"Tenten-sama!" Hana slid open the door. "She's here."

Sakura looked up as the scantily clad singer entered the room with a flourish and a bow. Temari leapt up in excitement.

"This is who you called, Ten? Oh my GAWD, you're so awesome…I love you!"

She leapt at the gypsy. "You're absolutely amazing, did you know that?! I'm your biggest fucking fan. What's your name? You got a court? Wanna come to Sand? I--"

"Shut up and sit down, Temari." Tenten's voice was restrained, a little angry. She lifted her cup and sipped calmly, before she finally looked up at the blonde gypsy.

"Take it off, you little retard, before I kill you."

A slow silence erupted as the brains of Sakura and Temari worked furiously to try and comprehend this comment. Tenten kept her harsh brown eyes fixed on the face of the gypsy girl, unmoving.

There was a pregnant pause as the gypsy girl lifted her hand and pulled the headscarf, sash and turban all off her head in one motion. The knot of captured hair at the top of her head unraveled, a golden waterfall fell to the girl's waist. Porcelain skin, blue eyes, a smiling pink mouth…

"Hey sis. I knew you knew."

Sakura gaped.

"INO!!"

**.-.-.-.**

_-evil cackle- Cliffie._

_It was a Snow Day. I felt generous. And my internet was down--don't kill me Mace, or no cookies--so I was unbelievable bored._

Songs(in order):

Hurricane - The Hush Sound

Never is a Promise - Fiona Apple

Blue Parade - Sarah Slean

Break the Sky - The Hush Sound

Dark Waltz – Hayley Westenra

Lacrymosa - Evanescence

_By the way, dear fans, if you wannathank someone for the update, thanks luvless191. She's the little bitch who bugs me 24/7...or rather, 12/5. She probably killed my ethernet by sheer willpower. DO YOU HEAR ME?! DIE BITCH! DIE!_

_Love ya :D_

_Now leaves are falling from the mercy tree _

_The blue surrounds me so I can get some sleep and_

_We don't need stars now, then she'll say: there's good love out there, just you wait _

_Oh, hold on, I'm coming...don't let anybody in..._

_Oh, hold on, I'm ready...lock your doors and wait for me..._


	7. Princess Pink vs The Juggernaut

**.-.-.-.**

**PRINCESS PINK VS. THE JUGGERNAUT OF UNREASONABLY HIGH-MAINTENANCE SOCIETY**

**.-.-.-.**

Looking back on that day, Sakura realized that outside her shock of Ino's magically spontaneous appearance, she got another whopping layer of surprise as Tenten neither a) asked if Ino was okay; b) inquired about her sister or c) welcomed her, these three options otherwise known as the common, sane thing to do.

Instead, the brunette calmly shifted to draw a kunai knife--the same that had reshaped Sakura's hair earlier--out of her boot and whip it at her sister, barely missing Temari's nose. It sliced the tie that held back Ino's hair and imbedded itself into the wall behind her.

Ino blinked her big blue eyes, before turned and staring at the knife, a hand moving up to feel her hair.

"Da-amn, Ten…"

Tenten, instead of responding, promptly turned on her heel and disappeared into her bedroom.

The blonde sister shrugged in confusion, before calmly looking around the rooms. Sakura and Temari stood, still shell shocked, as Ino smirked meanly and nodded. "Nice rooms, _nee-chan_," she shot viciously at Sakura. "I _love _your dress. I see you're taking my place beside Uchiha Sasuke, huh? I can't believe they actually think you're related to me, with your giant forehead."

Sakura blinked and gaped, still a little shellshocked, and unable to form any cohesive response. "I-I-ah," she gulped. "Ino…what?"

"Yeah. Uh huh. I stopped by dad's first, by the way. And apparently my lovely entourage left without me."

"You ran _away,_" Temari suddenly spoke up. "It's not like they could've done anything. You ran away with Shikamaru and now you're blaming Sakura? Tch."

Sakura's head whipped over to the other blonde, shocked. How many people knew?! Ugh. She didn't think Tenten would have _that_ big of a mouth.

And then suddenly they all started talking

"Oh, this coming from _you,_ you slutbag. You know what? You are so full of shit. I can't believe you were my _friend. _What the hell happened to your fucking sense of decency?! What the _fuck _were you thinking, that I wasn't gonna find out?" Ino was suddenly furious. "Oh, no, wait, I know what it is. You were just having _fun,_ weren't you, you whore? Huh? You thought he was just one of your little _man flings_, but no, he's not, you bitch, but you went for it anyways, didn't you?! You _knew_--_"_

"No," Temari protested, her eyes darting towards Sakura nervously, "No, Ino, it isn't--wasn't--what you think--"

"Ino," Sakura was beginning to panic, but kept her voice calm. This could turn out to be very, very, very bad…if what she thought was going was really going on. "Ino, what are you talking a--"

_BAM._

"Where the hell is Tenten?!"

"Ino? Ah, damn it. This is so troubles--"

Both blondes froze, and between them, Sakura turned to see Kiba standing looking a little less than sober in the frame of the door. Behind him stood a man in a black cloak with spiky hair pointing up at the sky, a sour expression on his face and his eyes rolled to the ceiling.

"Kiba," she managed, "Um, Tenten is in her--"

And to continue a long list of conversational interruptions, Sakura thought dryly, was Ino wrenching Tenten's kunai knife from behind her ear and hurling it at Captain Nara Shikamaru's pineappley head, not even bothering trying to curve it like her sister did.

Kiba blinked and ducked. The intended target leaned to one side and put his hand up. The knife hit his palm, going all the way through. Shikamaru didn't even wince as he examined the wound.

There was a little, surprised yelp, coming from the general direction of Temari, who stared at Ino in blind shock. Ino glared at him, her tiny body shaking in undisguised anger, her sapphire eyes fixed on the bleeding wound in Shikamaru's hand.

The room was silent. Then Shikamaru sighed and wrenched the weapon out of his appendage with a slight wince, before fixing his dark eyes on Sakura's cousin.

"_Now_ will you listen to me?"

Ino opened her mouth, but she couldn't speak. Realizing her impediment, she snapped her pale lips shut, glared and dashed into her sister's room, the door slamming closed behind her. Soon, Tenten's grumpy, sardonic voice was heard as she was disturbed, followed by a shrill sob from Ino, before the brunette's panicked, worried tones began.

An awkward silence filled the room. Temari looked extremely nervous, as Shikamaru's eyes were fixed on her. Sakura stood awkwardly a few feet off. Shikamaru's eyes did not leave the Sand kunoichi as he walked to fill Tenten's recently vacated seat. Sakura paused, weighing her options in her head, deciding she had nothing really to lose and joined him at the table. Temari remained unmoving, her eyes now fixed on the floor, sweating, her teeth clenched.

Kiba paused, contemplating his options, decided there was probably no way he was gonna see Tenten anytime that night, swore loudly, and walked into the receiving area and then into his bedroom, deciding he didn't want to deal with any of this.

Shikamaru picked up Tenten's half-filled cup, looked at it in consideration for a few seconds, before downing it.

"Damn, I'm tired," he commented candidly, ripping off a piece of his cloak to wrap his dripping hand in. When he was done, he turned to Sakura and smiled. "I'm Nara Shikamaru. And you are…?"

"Oh," Sakura paused, thinking. "Yamanaka Sakura, Nara Shikamaru-san," she inclined her head. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"No need for that," Shikamaru said blandly, examining his wrapped up hand. "I've talked to the King, Haruno-san, I know."

"Oh," Sakura repeated dumbly. Yet another. She was gonna have to write up a list or something to catch up with the steadily growing group of people who knew who she was. Shrugging, she sat there, not really knowing what to do. It's not like I was trained to deal with these kind of situation, she thought, though now I kind of wish I had.

Shikamaru, however, didn't seem uncomfortable at all. He yawned, stretched, then linked his hands behind his head, eyes shifting back to Temari.

"So, oh holy Blonde One," he drawled, "How've you been? Haven't seen you in a while."

Temari tensed. "Shika--"

_BAM._

Now Tenten's door was the one blown off the hinges, revealing two very pissed off Yamanakas. They towered impressively above the other occupants of the room, who were either seated and therefore shorter. The light from candles inside Tenten's room silhouetted them, creating an almost cinematic effect.

The brunette's hair was down in a long, a wavy sea of chestnut that brushed the back of her calves. Her brown eyes snapped in fury, her face red. She wore a crimson sleeping yukata with gold and brown maple leaves embroidered on it, and a mahogany sash, the silk hugging her hips and thighs, the neckline drooping a bit to reveal flushed cleavage.

Behind her, Ino had changed from her gypsy costume into one of her sister's yukatas, white with large silver chrysanthemums woven into the pattern and a blue sash. Her hair had been pulled back up with a silver hair stick, and she hid behind her sister's towering form, looking upset and a little nervous.

"Tenten-sama," Shikamaru scrambled up to bow. "Ino--"

"Shut up, Nara," Tenten snapped viciously, producing a riding crop from nowhere and cracking it in front of his nose. The taller man cringed and meekly sat back down. "Not another word from you, or I'll have you executed for kidnapping and treason. Now,"

Her eyes swept the room and landed on her best friend. Ex-best friend, Sakura corrected in her head, considering the look of revulsion in Tenten's eyes as she beheld the now extremely sober woman,

"We have some things to discuss."

**.-.-.-.-.**

Sakura sighed, sitting down on a large stone bench in the middle of the Palace Gardens, under the shade of a large oak. The sun was viciously bright in the sky; she lifted a pale hand to block it out. Her pink and white paper sun umbrella lay closed on the bench beside her, and her other hand smoothed the matching qipao, white silk printed with large, deep pink chrysanthemums and small red sakura blossoms (Tenten's).

There was a lot to think about.

Suddenly several large shadows appeared around the vicinity of her raised hand and blocked out the bright rays of that giant gas ball we call the sun. Sakura looked up, to find that her companions' faces were indistinguishable, as they basically looked like three giant blobs of shadow. She stood, smoothing her qipao and picking up the umbrella. A-ha.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-sama, Gaara-sama, Naruto-kun," Sakura smiled politely, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your companies today?"

"Naruto observed a disturbance in your wing last night," Neji said carefully, in his even, calculated tone. "We inquire as to the cause."

Sakura smiled at the worried look on Naruto's face. "It was nothing," she replied calmly, as she opened her umbrella and began to walk down the path towards the rose arches. "Kiba was drunk, that's all."

Neji looked at Gaara, who shrugged. Naruto fidgeted and angled himself behind the redhead.

"We…saw Ino-san this morning. From your window."

Sakura froze in her step and turned. _Shit._

"Gaara cannot ascertain the location of his sister."

Naruto popped out from behind his friend, encouraged by Neji's prodding.

"I saw that lazy ass Shikamaru today, too, and man, he did _not_ look good. And come on, Sakura, there was a LOT of yelling. And crashing. I heard it, I'm like two doors away from you guys. And Neji and Hinata are, like, RIGHT beside you, ne, Neji? And Gaara--" he paused, "Where ARE you, Gaara?"

Gaara smiled rather sinisterly to himself, proud that Naruto had not yet discovered his area of residence.

"And I," Neji added, ignoring Naruto completely, "have lost an indiscernible amount of sleep, and I can assure you, I am in no way pleased."

Sakura sighed, turned, and located another bench. She sat down, and cocked her head expectantly at her (mostly) royal companions. They looked at each other, before deciding Hey, Whatever, complying and joining her.

"Gaara-sama," she began, "Temari is resting in my rooms. She was at the scene, rather, in the middle of this…event…last night." Her eyes shifted uncomfortably. Gaara, however, nodded in understanding.

"Shikamaru," he said slowly, contemplatively, "Ino. Temari. Same room, I assume. I see."

Naruto stared at Gaara, then at Sakura.

"What? I don't get it, what happened? Sakura-chan?"

Sakura opened her mouth, trying to form a non-embarrassing (and probably mostly false) explanation, but Gaara beat her to the chase.

"My sister was having a…tirade…with Nara Shikamaru before he became involved with Ino-san, and attempting to rekindle such when she discovered they had removed themselves from Mizu court, together. It is my belief that she had sent a flying missive to him. It is also my belief that Shikamaru received the missive, however, he was with Ino-san at the time. Please note, Sakura-san," Gaara added, "that this behavior was in no way encouraged at Sand. We offer our apologies if our Head of War Council is causing this rather curious and unfortunate…domestic disturbance."

Sakura closed her mouth and wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah," she huffed, abandoning all pretense of refined, ignorant politeness, "That's basically it, thanks, Gaara-sama."

Neji looked up from carving his initials into the stone bench with his kunai.

"And Ino-san came here? I do not understand."

To hell with this, Sakura decided, better from me than rumors from the maids.

"Ino was engaged to Sasuke before I was; I replaced my sister when she ran away. We're only ten months apart, you see. I think she was hoping to stop the engagement and retake her place, but Shikamaru found her, and Temari was in the room. We Yamanaka," here she raised her chin proudly, "are protective of our kin. I'm afraid Temari-san was rather…ganged up upon." Ha-ha. Take _that_.

"And you're on the outs right now, Sakura-chan? You guys and Temari-chan and Shikamaru?"

"Well," Sakura bit her lip and smiled. She was getting used to her role. "They're on the outs. I'm still mad at Ino for putting me here in the first place, I'm not siding with her, sister or not."

"You're not satisfied with your current position?"

All four heads whipped around to observe Uchiha Sasuke leaning against the trunk of the tree, in a blue tunic and black pants, a rather disgruntled look on his face, his black eyes piercing Sakura. She panicked. _Shit. _If I'm not careful, that won't be the only thing piercing me, she thought as she noted his katana.

"Uh," Sakura fumbled. _Shitshitshitshitshit. _"That's--that's not what I meant, um, Uchiha-sama, I--er--"

Naruto leapt up.

"Well of COURSE she's not SATISFIED I mean you DITCH her at a fucking BALL and then you never TALK to her or--gee, Sasuke-teme, is that you LOOKING at her? I cannot believe what my beautiful eyes are seeing, Sasuke the Great Almightly Lord of the UNIVERSE is ACKNOWLEDGING a WOMAN! Cause gosh darn, Sasuke, I always thought you were ASEXUAL."

Sasuke glared at Naruto with a sinister glower. The blonde was glaring right back in defensive indignation, Neji was ignoring them all, Gaara was looking slightly bemused, and Sakura was praying for a giant hole to open up and just swallow her whole.

"Shut up, dobe."

"Teme! If this is how you're gonna treat a pretty girl like Sakura-chan she'd be better off with me--"

At which point Neji promptly Gentle Fisted Naruto.

That was the theory anyways, because in reality, Naruto yelped and ducked, and Neji wasn't really aiming anyways.

"What the hell was _that_ for, Neji?!"

"You're engaged to Hinata. Do not shame the Hyuuga name by throwing yourself at someone else's woman."

Naruto twitched in shock.

"Wha--I'm--what the HELL is wrong with everyone today?! First Sasuke gets a sexuality--"

"You wanna die, dobe?"

"--then Neji LIKES someone from the Main House?!"

And, because his head hurt and because he's Naruto, he punched the tree.

Which Shikamaru fell out of, scrambling for some sort of balance.

His eventual position was a lot less than graceful, with one leg hooked on the branch, the other twitching in midair, one hand scrabbling on the trunk, and the other planted unceremoniously on Sasuke's head. The prince twitched and grabbed the offending arm, flipping Shikamaru with a _WHAM _onto the base of the tree.

Sakura gaped. Hi, entire male population of the castle, thank you for bombarding me today, she thought dryly. If Manners Mistress could see me now…oh the heart attacks…

Shikamaru stared up in annoyance at them all, rubbing his head.

"This is so troublesome."

Gaara cocked his head, trying to decide whether to kill him or not.

"Well," Sakura smiled nervously, trying to smooth her updo, "Isn't this a pleasant little gathering, I'd love to stay but I've gotta go--"

"SAKURA-SAN!!"

And EVERYONE'S eyebrow twitched, as a giant ball of green and black hurtled towards the stone bench gathering.

"Lee-san…it's…it's so nice to see you…"

"MY ANGEL REMEMBERS ME! OH WHAT JOY! I CAN DIE A HAPPY MAN! BUT I SHALL NOT! FOR SWEET SAKURA-SAN, I MUST LIVE, AND PROTECT YOU FROM--"

He paused, when he realized Sasuke was, in fact, present, and cockily waiting for him to continue his tirade so he could kick Lee's ass.

Sakura mentally twitched. She just came out for some fresh air, and now she's got Sasuke, Neji, Gaara, Naruto, Shikamaru and Lee surrounding her, all in different states of indifference, annoyance and confusion. She opened her mouth to attempt to excuse herself again, when:

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Shit," Shikamaru muttered, as he attempted to scramble back up his tree. Gaara indifferently reached out and grabbed him by the neck, dragging him back to the ground. "Take it like a man, Nara," he said blandly. Shikamaru sighed. "Shit. I am so dead."

Sakura stood up immediately, beholding a glowing Ino in a white harem sundress and straw bonnet, waving her arm, Kiba two steps behind her. "Ino," she began nervously, "Kiba, uh, I can totally explain cause this is NOTHING like it looks like--"

At which the men all realized they were all in physical positions that, to a stranger, would look suspiciously as if they were all simultaneously vying for the pink-haired girl's attention. Which Lee was, on one bended knee, but that's not the point.

Ino, however, grinned.

"Oh, sure, Sakura, cause it wasn't suspicious when Tenten told me that she sensed an extraordinary concentration of chakra and testosterone here, and that I should get you cause that's probably where you were, but and so here I am, and could I inquire, is this amorous situation one that occurs often because if it is me and Ten and Hana and all the girls could just KILL you, Forehead Girl--"

Sakura blushed a million shades at Ino's informal tone, and looked around, but no one seemed to be at all shocked or scandalized. In fact, the look on all their faces stated it was nothing out of the ordinary, except for Shikamaru, who looked extremely ruffled and a little frightened.

Kiba shifted beside Naruto, who was staring at Ino in amazement.

"Does she breathe?" the blonde whispered to his companion. Kiba just shrugged and rolled his eyes, a grin on his face.

"--and anyways, Ten wants you cause she says we gotta start fitting you for all the new stuff that just came in and she says if you don't come she's taking all of it cause, let's face it, you're just as tiny as we are, and some of your kimono are pretty freaking gorgeous and let's also face it, Tenten loves kimonos and she's actually thinking of having more tailored, as if she needs anymore, but there's this one dress I really like, can I have it please and whoa, Sasuke-kun," insert batting of eyelashes, "don't you look absolutely stunning, though, might I say, it looks like _someone _didn't get their caffeine today--"

She suddenly stopped, her blue eyes fixed on--whaddaya know--Shikamaru.

Sakura quickly turned. "I'm so excited, Ino," she said quickly, stepping in front of the ANBU. "I can't wait, come on, let's go!" And with that, she swept a quick curtsey to the congregation of some of the most powerful men in the world, before smiling apologetically and grabbing Ino, promptly making a mad dash for it.

Kiba whistled long and low.

"Damn, that girl runs fast. Whaddaya think, Naruto, three inch heels? Maybe four?"

There was silence as they all stared at Kiba.

"What?" he retorted guardedly, "You try it."

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Apparently, men didn't much know what to do with themselves when left to their own devices in a large group.

Finally, Sasuke prodded Neji with his foot.

"Hyugga. Spar."

**.-.-.-.-.**

It wasn't fair, Sakura decided.

She stood on a wood block, with women scrambling and bickering around her, pinning and repining pieces of fabric on her frame, before rapidly reseaming them for fashionable perfection. A tall, dark-haired woman with gray eyes stood in the midst of them, calm in their frenzy, picking with her long pale fingers at Sakura's sleeves and hem, and waist and giving quiet instructions. And Sakura doesn't think she's seen this many clothes in her life (well, except for when she stepped into Tenten's walk-in closet and almost fainted).

There were gowns of pink, yellow, blue, green…every color Sakura could think of. There were sundresses with light designs, everyday dresses of a soft fabric, textures like nothing she's felt before, kimono with hand painted patterns in metallic hues, wraps, shawls, coats, shoes, and Sakura wondered if she had a closet big enough to fit it all.

And that's WITH Ino stealing pieces from the pile on Tenten's bed every few minutes for herself and her sister.

Who was calmly sitting at the wrought-iron and glass table on the balcony, sipping coffee, a few papers on the table beside her, watching them, her long hair down, her legs crossed, and wearing nothing but a lilac slip and a white silk dressing gown.

Which lead Sakura back to deciding the world was unfair.

They're my _cousins_, she thought bitterly, sneaking glances over her shoulder, there isn't _that_ much of a genetic difference. Of course the King was gorgeous and the Queen was gorgeous, but Mother is equally gorgeous, and rating your dad on a hot scale was too awkward to contemplate. Nevertheless, how can these two creatures, by simply being royalty, look so completely and utterly dazzling in the simplest of clothes and a dabble of makeup--Tenten none at all--when Sakura's own were made to highlight and amaze, and it took _ages_ to paint her in the mornings? And how can the Yamanaka effortlessly rise to the top of the beauty pyramid without a sweat, and skyrocket above the rest of the poor women at Court with just a _little_ effort, when Sakura is barely scraping a "beautiful" after hours in front of the mirror?

Not. Fair.

"Is she done, Takuda-san?" Tenten's voice floated from the balcony, her eyes now fixated on a card from the small stack in front of her.

The tall, willowy woman straightened, patting her black hair back into place. "Yes," she replied in a dreamy tone, "This should be quite sufficient for now. Two hours. Excellent progress, milady. We'll have you back for the rest in a few days. Is that quite alright?"

Sakura could only ejaculate a quick "Yes" before the black silk gown was pried over her head rather viciously by the gentle looking Takuda-san and tossed to the seamstress, who rapidly took apart and redid a few seams before in turn handing it to Ayame, who hung it up.

With collective, polite bows, Takuda-san and her team gathered the not-yet-tackled pile and left.

Sakura grabbed a white shift and quickly pulled it on, eyes flickering to the small stack of clothes Ino had stolen, admiring the pretty colors and textures. Oh well, she shrugged. She had more than enough.

As if reading her mind, Tenten stood up, and began finger-combing her hair. "It's Court season," she said, walking over to examine what Ino had snitched for her, "You'll need a different dress every night."

Ino squealed giddily, seeming to have forgotten everything to do with Shikamaru. "I'm so excited," she dropped the silver gown she had been pressing against her (perfect, Sakura thought bitterly) body and pranced over to Sakura, grabbing Sakura's hands with her beautifully manicured ones (two weeks in the wild and her nails are perfect?!) as Tenten admired a crimson kimono, "I've decided to stay here until the wedding. I'm having my things sent over, and I'm staying in your room, cause Tenten has too many clothes for mine to fit in her closet, too." She grinned and squealed again. "Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Huh," Sakura replied, trying to clear her ears of Ino's high pitched excitement. "Stop squealing, Ino, or they'll really think you're a pig."

Ino turned and smirked. "Too bad your clothes can't cover that giant forehead, Sakura-_chan._ Oh, oh my, is that what I think it is? Are humans _populating_ that vast expanse?"

Tenten snorted and cleared her throat, holding up the card she had been examining earlier.

"Most Honorable Yamanaka Tenten-sama, Ino-sama and Sakura-sama;

You have been cordially invited to take tea in companionship with Their Highnesses Uchiha Itachi-sama, Uchiha Sasuke-sama, Hyuuga Neji-sama, Sabaku no Gaara-sama and Uzumaki Naruto-sama Friday at high noon. We hope for your presence to grace our gardens.

Uchiha Fugaku."

She flipped it over with a smirk.

"Heyyy Sakura-chan! I'm supposed to tell ya, we'll come get you, cause if you didn't notice there's no specific time or place on the invite, how dumb is that? And, this invite is kinda old…I think some old retard lost it trying to find you but don't worry!!"

Sakura smacked her head. "Naruto," she sighed and smiled wryly. "Does he really write like that?"

Tenten grinned, nodded, and continued: "Oh, and Tenten-chan, we have some baaaaaaaaaaaad news wink wink!! Itachi decided to be all 'Oh look at me I'm so great and mysterious" again, and he went off to God-knows-where so I guess you'll be--"

Tenten stopped and stared at the card, blushing furiously. Ino, not to be trifled with, leaned forward and snatched it from her sister's grasping fingers.

"Hey!!"

"Itachi decided to be all 'Oh look at me I'm so great and mysterious' again," Ino continued with a smirk, "and he went off to God-knows-where so--God, that idiot writes small--I guess you'll be going with…Neji wink wink!"

Ino gasped and burst into laughter.

"Hyuuga Neji! Ooo-ooooo, Ten!"

Sakura grinned, stealing the card again. "Cause this is actually one of those boring formal things, where you have to come with a date, so Hinata's coming! Yay! I think she has a fever or somethingcause she's really red all the time, maybe she's sick do you know what it could be? Actually if I think about it it's been going on since her dad engaged us but I haven't really looked into it or anything, lemme know if you know. Anyways we've got no idea who Gaara's going with and it's really scary to even be thinking about it, but I think it's gonna be YOU, Ino-chan! Yeah! Cause he's got no date and technically you've got no date! I can add! See! Have fun don't be late be pretty see you later bye! Naruto."

And Ino turned ten different shades of red.

"Oh my God," she whispered, "GAARA?!"

Tenten giggled. "Oh, he's not that bad," she smiled, retrieving the invitation and setting it on her beside table. Sakura agreed. "He's really nice, really," she insisted.

"Easy for you to say, you're going with _Hyuuga Neji_, he's got hair like a goddess and a body like a god!" Ino seethed. "And _you_, _Uchiha Sasuke_! You know how many years of my childhood I _dreamed_ about that kid? UGH! This is SO unfair! Gaara used to _KILL_ people! Viciously! I hate you!"

And she turned on her heel and began rifling through Tenten's clothes.

"Apparently she's going anyways," Sakura commented drly.

"Apparently," Tenten agreed with a smile.

**.-.-.-.-.**

Anyone still out there?

knockknock

Hullo? Review please?


	8. Nothing is a Bigger Surprise

_Lots of big, winding, extremely detailed costume descriptions here. Feel free to skip them if you wish._

_**.-.-.-.-.**_

**NOTHING IS A BIGGER SURPRISE THAN THE SUDDEN INABILITY TO BREATHE**

**.-.-.-.-.**

"_Sakura," she could feel his breath on her face._

"_Sakura."_

_She looked back up into his onyx eyes, and her heart stopped. She stumbled; he caught her. _

_She was trapped in his strong, steady arms. And she was pretty sure she was melting into a big pile of Sakura goo. Woozy. That was the word. She felt _woozy.

_She almost didn't notice his face coming closer. Her emerald eyes flickered up, up, a dainty blush coloring her cheeks. And she surrendered, closed her eyes and he descended, closer, closer, and_--

"BRIGHT AND EARLY SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAN!"

Sakura mumbled into her (nicesoftfluffy) pillow and turned. _And--_

"Huh…forget the bright part, sorry!"

And a big blonde Ino was in her face.

Mumble.

Mumble.

Turn.

"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!"

"No," the pink-haired girl lashed out with an arm. Ino, of course, evaded it easily. "Good dream. Go away." _Pretty Sasuke. Mmmm._

But Ino was not to be deterred.

"Nuh-uh, sleepy head, get up get up get UP Sakura! Up up up!"

And with that the blonde reached out and ripped Sakura's nice warm comforters off her body. Sakura immediately curled into a ball. Opened an eye.

"…Ino, is that the _moon_?!"

Ino turned and cocked her head at the window.

"Yeah, why?"

Sakura reached out and smacked the blonde's leg.

"Ow!"

"What time is it, you parasite?"

Ino grinned.

"Five thirty."

Sakura moaned as she was dragged into a sitting position.

"Why am I up so early?"

"You'll see," Ino smiled, did funky things with her hands, and then promptly passed out.

Next thing Sakura knew, she was in front of her bathroom mirror, Ino picking herself up into a perky sitting position on the foot of Sakura's still-warm bed.

The pink-haired girl whipped around and glared.

"Ino. Not. Fair."

Ino just grinned. Sakura sighed, relenting to the powers of the sunken bath.

"Fine. Bitch. Coffee. Now."

Ino beamed about a kilowatt and ran off.

**.-.-.-.-.**

When at last Sakura was clean, dressed and conscious enough to satisfy Ino's insufferable standards, the two voyaged to the general direction of Tenten's half of the suites. Sakura, though now extremely caffeinated, still stumbled a bit (okay, fine, totally fell) on the hem of the tight white robe she had been forced into, the exact same one that Ino was wearing.

"Dammit," she mumbled crossly, nursing her bright pink mug, "Why's the skirt so tight on this thing?"

"It's good practice," Ino chirped cheerfully as they marched to Tenten's door, "For later."

Sakura didn't even bother to contemplate this statement. Whatever insanity Ino and Tenten will proceed with now, she wasn't gonna go without a fight. It was cold, with stars still in the sky, and she wanted to be _sleeping_, dammit, not on some ridiculous Yamanaka escapade.

Upon arriving at their destination, Ino promptly yanked open the doors, bounced in, and attacked her sister.

"OHAYO NEE-CHAN!!"

Tenten mumbled a reply, before guiding them to her large bed, where Takuda-san and her team of demon-women stood, the very embodiment of patience. There, on the bed, were three piles, which Sakura made out to be kimono-shaped.

"This is ridiculous," Sakura finally ejaculated, for she could add one and one and make two. "Tea's not till noon."

"You're ridiculous," Tenten replied, "I heard you trip."

Sakura hmphed. Tenten ignored her. "We have to prepare you to walk in a kimono. I sincerely doubt your ability to wing it. Therefore, we will get ready, and then Takuda-san will instruct you until your ability is something near to acceptable in common society. Then we will attempt to teach you tea ceremony."

Sakura blinked.

"I know tea ceremony."

Tenten shrugged. "Alright then. Just the walking, then. We're not doing tea ceremony today, anyways, just tea. Because Gaara gets pissed when he has to drink the tea ceremony tea. It tastes like puke."

Ino nodded. "It really does."

Sakura sighed. "Okay, then. Let's start. Do we pick from the pile?"

Now both Yamanakas turned and stared at her.

"No," Takuda-san injected gently, "Your kimono has already been chosen for you. Ino-sama's, as well. However, Tenten-sama," the tall woman now sent a long-suffering look at the princess, who smirked, "seems unable to choose between the green and the gold. Those 'piles' you have so kindly mentioned are simply under-robes and padding." She tilted her thin frameless glasses a little. "I think you need padding, dear."

Ino giggled. Sakura flushed. Tenten picked up two kimonos and faced them.

One was a deep, dark forest-emerald green in a slightly pearly hue. Printed on the hem and sleeves were large, tail-fanned peacocks, with the rest of the kimono sprayed with large green, purple, blue and yellow peacock feathers. It came with a deep purple obi with an overlay of green lace, and two hair combs in the shape of fans, made with real peacock feathers.

The other was a dark metallic gold, printed with large, crimson maple leaves that bled down to a deep crimson hem. The obi was deep wine red embroidered with little gold flowers. There seemed to be no hair accessories, but Sakura knew better.

"Which one?" the brunette demanded, "I'm absolutely _torn._"

Takuda-san threw her hands in the air in utter despair and began ordering her minions around. Ino cocked her head to one side contemplatively.

"The gold," she decided finally, "the green's a little dark for tea, don't you think, Sakura-chan?"

"Erleeky derby," Sakura replied into her coffee mug. She sputtered (burhumblemumble) coughed (kerhackercak), then translated, "I like the obi."

"It's done, then," Tenten said decisively, and a plump woman in yellow grabbed the green kimono from her right hand. "Takuda-san, the gold."

The woman gracefully pivoted and bowed. "As you wish, Tenten-sama. Kiyoumi, love," she turned to who Sakura could only assume to be her apprentice, or, upon closer examination, her steely-eyed daughter, "find the red under-robe and the pale yellow one, and the lilies, will you, dear? And go give them to Tenten-sama. Sakura-sama, Ino-sama, please come this way."

Ino jumped and clapped her thin hands, following obediently. "Oh, I love this part." She winked. "This is the part where I outshine you in every way imaginable."

Sakura merely snorted, not really doubting her cousin's statement. They followed Takuda Minami to the other side of Tenten's large bed. Bed, Sakura thought wistfully. Oh, bed.

"Ino-sama," Takuda-san said, holding up what Sakura could only identify as an entire constellation, "Is it to your liking?"

Ino fingered the silver fabric. It was embroidered with peonies and flying blue herons in a darker silver, the hem showing a landscape of herons in water with floating peonies on the surface. The obi was white with gray lace, and two large white shell combs came with it.

"Yeah," she said finally. "I'm officially stealing it from Tenten."

Takuda smiled pleasantly and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura-sama," she said, lifting another kimono off the bed. Sakura gulped and reached for it.

The body of the kimono was a pearly white, fading into a pale pink that gradually turned into fuchsia at the sleeves and hem. Branches laden full with Sakura blossoms reached from the knot where the obi would be on her back to curl around her arms, shoulders and legs, stretching just a little to be seen in the white section. Several dainty silver and pink butterflies fluttered near the branches, and a pink and silver striped obi finished it off.

"Wow," Sakura breathed. "Did-did you really make this?"

Takuda simply smiled, turned and waved her arms.

"Ladies," her voice floated over the brightly lit room into the ears of all its inhabitants, "We have work to do."

**.-.-.-.-.**

Sakura's scalp ached so badly she was tempted to just rip it all out. But then again, she sighed; Takuda-san would probably just strap her back into that godforsaken chair and do it all over again. She winced as she lifted a hand to try and ease the pain from her red head. Glancing sideways at her two companions, she gauged that they weren't too happy about their raw scalps either.

Their hair had been through more than the survivor of a hurricane. There had been hours of shampooing, conditioning, shampooing again, and again, and again, horrific tugging and scratching, rinsing in boiling hot water, re-conditioning, rinse again, perfuming, brushing, combing, then fine combing, then hours and hours of styling, restyling, and perfecting.

And it hurt.

_But hey_, she thought, _at least it looks nice_.

Sakura's soft pink hair had been tugged into a sturdy, perfect ofuku, with what she could only call an entire branch of sakura blossoms inserted into the bun, cascading down from one side of her head to her shoulder to join its printed brethren. A hair pin sat in the middle of the thick bun, embedding itself into her hair with two five-inch pikes, the whole thing ending in a wooden shell topped with a rosy mother-of-pearl, which cascaded three or four strands of pink seed pearls.

The top sections of Ino's long hair had been coaxed and moussed into a sleek, large, upright chignon, covered by a silver web hairnet speckled with clear crystal. The knot was framed by a fan-shaped white shell comb on each side, with a large diamond set in silver resting cleverly in the middle of the two. At the base of her neck was a large white bow, with the diamond's twin in the center, and the rest of her hair cascaded in gentle curls from the bow.

But Tenten was the most impressive of all. As always, Sakura thought, eyeing the girl with what could eventually be interpreted as pity. After all, her hair accessories weighed as much as hers and Ino's put together, times fifty.

Tenten's hair had been fashioned into a pretty updo, with individual sections and locks of hair going through and over each other. Several long, loose curls trailed from the butt of the 'do. The whole thing was secured in place with only her hair ornaments.

Into her shining locks went several red and yellow lilies, clustered with tiny red flowers, on one side; what looked like a webbed fan coming off of the same side, a rather large and distinctive red lace-and-gold shell perched on two golden pikes, and several hairsticks of various combinations of wooden and gold shells, beading, pearl and shirring, all interconnected with a thin draping of tiny linked gold chains.

Then they were all dressed. The Yamanaka girls started off that procedure by teasing Sakura, with two or three layers of obi padding on Ino and Tenten and a few more layers on said pink-haired girl, to create the ideal thin tube shape. This lightheartedness quickly turned sour as the process of layering began.

Over the padding went a white silk robe each, edged with crocheted lace in matching colors, then over _that_ went the under-robes--one in fuchsia and one in rose for Sakura, dark dove's-wing gray for both of Ino's, and of course, red and pale yellow for Tenten--positioned so only the lace peeked out. And then over that went the kimonos, wrapped and tightened and smoothed and wrapped more.

Finally, after the edges were adjusted for a peek of the under-robes and the neckline shifted backwards and out, a padded wooden contraption was buckled around their waists. Then, several women were tasked with the round-and-round game of tying the obis, this accomplished with much ducking and fussing and ado, finally ending in funky crosses between box and butterfly knots.

"You wear these for _pleasure_?" Sakura snapped at Tenten. The brunette turned up her pretty nose and grinned.

At around 10:00 in the morning, Sakura's walking lesson began, and finally, she understood why. With all the layers, and the amazingly tiny tube that the kimono and robes created, Sakura could hardly do anything but totter. She seethed at Tenten and Ino, who moved their feet so fast they seemed to glide over the floor. And as Takuda's women rushed about cleaning up and setting up the makeup tables, Takuda herself guided Sakura step by step until she had accomplished what Tenten had earlier stated as near to acceptable in common society. But Sakura was proud.

_Seriously_, she winced as she almost tripped over her own feet, _how do __they__ expect someone to learn to walk perfectly in a stiff ten-inch tube in one day?_

By the time she was done, and managed to glide as an almost carbon copy of the Yamanaka sisters, it was 11:00 and moving. Panic began to ensue as each sister systematically blamed Sakura for the lapse in time, and Sakura responded by throwing what turned out to be the exact makeup item needed next at their heads, continuing the cycle of blame and throwing. Eventually everything was put in its place, the girls securely in their seats, and the makeup applied.

Because it was simply noon tea, the makeup artists applied light layers of foundation, thin lines of liner kohl and faded eyelash curl. They brushed on light gold, pink and silver shadow, and a small dash of pale pink blush to accent their cheekbones.

Someone had painted Tenten's lower lip a rather sensuous wine red, and the top lip a lighter color, creating a pouting effect. A male artist fashioned Sakura's lips with a rosy gloss until they were plastic perfection. Ino made a mad dash for her purse--which held the entire makeup deparment of any mall--and dabbed on a pale primrose pink before Takuda could order anything gray-shade onto her mouth.

Two seconds after the team finished steaming flat the kimonos, there was a knock on the door. With a smile, Takuda and her team made themselves rapidly scarce, as Hana moved to open the door.

Neji, Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata stood in the hall. The men were also wearing kimonos, Neji in pale gold with autumn ivy vines climbing up towards his waist, Gaara in maroon with tiny silver stripes, Sasuke in dark blue with silver dragons flying over a blue mountain and lake. Naruto was in white, edged in green with an emerald vine crawling up the sides. Hinata was glowing in a white kimono with outlines of large blue and silver lilies, a sky blue obi around her tiny waist, two silver hairsticks and a white shell comb in her black bun, a pretty blush on her cheeks.

Neji stepped forward first, bowing slightly to Tenten and holding out his arm. Tenten, suddenly petite and shy, blushed furiously when he kissed her hand, and stepped outside with him.

"Wow," Ino commented with a sly, foxy grin as she let herself be led by Gaara, "Ten, you and Neji-san match like _perfectly_. It's almost…_serendipity._"

A ghost of a smile landed on Neji's lips, as he added lightly, "Maybe it's destiny."

Tenten turned the color of her obi.

When Sasuke bowed and held out his hand to Sakura, she couldn't help but notice he seemed much more relaxed today. His hands were soft, devoid of any tension, his eyes were almost…fond. And--goodness--he was looking her in the eye. She felt herself flush, and prayed she did it prettily like Hinata. This _could_ be considered a twist of fate, she decided, because in any other situation there would be no chance in heaven, hell or limbo she could ever even _imagine_ being engaged to someone as gorgeous and pedigreed as Uchiha Sasuke.

"You look nice," he whispered to her in an undertone, escorting her out behind Naruto, who was at the moment trying to fish baubles out of Tenten's hair. The brunette lost all timidity and smacked him, causing a loud giggle from Ino and what looked like a leer but Sakura was sure was an attempt to smile from Gaara.

Before they had made it to the end of the corridor most of the pairs had split, with the Hyuuga at the forefront, conversing in low tones with Gaara, the Yamanaka sisters both trying to ward off Naruto's foxy grin and reaching hands, and Sasuke and Sakura watching the latter scene with amusement.

Tea was going to be extremely eventful.

**.-.-.-.-.**

The tea had been extremely pleasant, Sakura decided as she strolled along one of the walkways with Sasuke. It had been jasmine and lemon, an exotic and rather delightful mix. They had sat in the Rose Garden, characterized by its large rose trees, bushes and arches, and the pleasant breeze always drifting through it, always carrying the scent of the roses.

They had all joked and laughed--well, Naruto, Ino, Tenten and Sakura did. Hinata sat timidly across from Naruto, blushing profusely, sipping tea and joining conversation periodically. Neji and Sasuke smiled, smirked and imbued the conversation with witty sarcasm regularly. Gaara sat with his head in one palm, quietly watching and listening, and once let out a weird strangled choking sound that could be deciphered as a laugh.

After tea they had lingered, having fun and iced cake (which Sasuke and Neji politely refused), and watched in utter hysteria as Gaara licked the icing and bristled immediately, before realizing he did like the sweetness. Eventually Hinata felt faint, and Naruto readily took for a walk and some fresh air. Neji and Tenten left rather soon afterwards to walk around the entire garden complex, and Sasuke and Sakura followed an hour later. Ino and Gaara decided that such romances was definitely not for an odd couple like them, and settled under a tree nearby for an extremely competitive game of chess.

Now, the breeze in the garden was just at the right temperature, and the sun had just about made up its mind to start setting. Sakura was currently a member of the comfortable silence between her and Sasuke, at least on his part. She felt a little awkward. That the absence of Itachi had made such a ridiculously large change in Sasuke's cold demeanor was extremely curious to her. Sakura wanted to ask, but considered whether the repercussions would really be worth a good sibling rivalry story.

But after all, Sakura is Sakura.

So she opened her mouth and said, simply, "Itachi-sama is not here."

And Sasuke's lip twitched.

"Yes."

"Sasuke-kun--" she stopped herself and looked at him. He looked down at her, a little surprised. Timidly, she continued, "May I call you that?"

"No," he said.

But this was a good day, and Sakura believes in Lady Luck.

"Why not?" she stopped their motion and cocked her head.

Sasuke turned away. "It's none of your business."

She pouted, deciding to turn on her Kicked Puppy act.

"Sasuke-kun…" she trailed off, and he turned to look down at her. She blinked up at him with her big emerald eyes.

He twitched--his eye, too, now, in perfect rhythm with his perfect lip--and hmphed, taking her hand and resuming his motion. "You're annoying."

"NANI?!" she glared at him viciously, but when he refused to turn, she grabbed his arm and tried to wrench him towards her. He, being stronger, resisted, but Sakura was a ball of dynamite, and with one, final pull she won.

That is, until she realized she was falling.

They hit the ground, him on top of her, staring down with shocked eyes as Sakura rubbed her head with a small frown.

"Ow," she sniffed, "Look what you've done, Sasuke-kun, you've rumpled my kimono."

"Look what I've--?!"

And suddenly they realized how close they were.

Sakura ran her tongue over her bottom lip nervously. This was weird, and awkward, and a little familiar for some reason, but still weird. Sasuke seemed decidedly out of character for the day, and how they ended up with his face two inches away she could not for the life of her remember. She could only see his dark eyes. She could only think of those two glowing orbs, the eyes that were fixated on her, unblinking, refused to leave her face.

And he, in spite of himself, could only think: she has beautiful eyes.

Slowly, steadily, he shifted to one knee, then slowly maneuvered to a crouching position. Offering her a hand, which she took, he pulled them until they were standing again.

Sakura swallowed with difficulty.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she said slowly, brushing herself off.

Then she made the mistake of looking up into his dark, gorgeous eyes. And suddenly, she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't blink, and she couldn't see anything but his beautiful face and his perfect nose and she looked away but she knows he's still watching her with that intensity, and she couldn't _think_ and--

"Sakura," she could feel his breath on her face.

"Sakura."

She looked back up into his onyx eyes, and her heart stopped. She stumbled; he caught her.

She was trapped in his strong, steady arms. And she was pretty sure she was melting into a big pile of Sakura goo. Woozy. That was the word. She felt woozy.

She almost didn't notice his face coming closer. Her emerald eyes flickered up, up, a dainty blush coloring her cheeks. And she surrendered, closed her eyes and he descended, closer, closer, and--

Suddenly he was gone; the warmth of his pressing body vanished. She peeked open an eye to see him standing a few feet off, and was that--a trace of a blush on his cheeks? He coughed, and turned towards her.

"Sorry, Yamanaka-san."

"Sakura," she said in spite of herself, "please call me Sakura."

He looked extremely uncomfortable, but he relented. "Sorry, Sakura."

She smiled sweetly. "It's okay." Taking his arm again, she started pulling him down the previously abandoned path. "Come on, we're almost at the castle. Tenten will be angry if she misses me." Sakura turned back and smiled at him.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun!"

He let out a wry grin. "Stupid." She stuck her tongue out at him, and ran off. Without a second thought, he chased her.

She grinned to herself.

_Note to self: never mention Itachi ever, ever again. Leads to bad, bad (good) BAD things._

**.-.-.-.-.**

"It's pretty," Tenten smiled in admiration at the rosy hues of the setting sun. Neji nodded, miles away, one finger absentmindedly twirling one of her curls.

She turned; he snapped out of it.

"I wonder where Sakura and Ino are? They're awfully late, it's nearly dinnertime."

Neji shrugged. "I'm sure Sakura-san is rather preoccupied with Sasuke. Ino-san, however, is with Gaara, isn't she?"

Tenten nodded contemplatively.

"That dilemma I cannot comprehend," he smiled softly down at her. Tenten's breath caught in her throat, and she blinked rapidly. "Oh--yes," she said rather dumbly. "Oh," Tenten perked up. _Perfect timing, guys. Is it me or did the temperature just rise? _"There's Naruto and Hinata. They've been a while, haven't they? I wonder what took them."

She was pretty sure she knew _exactly_ what had gone on. Hinata looked a little flushed and rumpled; Naruto was glancing shiftily and extremely nervously at his fiance's anal cousin. "Tenten-chan, Neji," he grinned, "Hey."

"Weather's nice," Hinata whispered.

"The sky's gorgeous," Tenten agreed encouragingly. Neji quickly added one and one and made two, and began crackling with chakra.

"Naruto--"

The blonde suddenly reached out, having found a clever escape route, and snatched a fistful of lily and hair stick and gold chain, pulled, and ran off cackling, a mortified Hinata in tow.

Tenten's entire updo unraveled completely, the remaining lilies sliding down the long mass of curls and waves, weaving themselves into her hair. She stood, horrified, staring at the spot where Naruto had been.

"N-Neji-san," she turned and blinked. "I'm so sorry about this--when I see him next I swear I'm going to kick his little--"

"No," he cut her off softly, reaching out and tangling his fist in her soft brown tresses, "I like it like this."

And suddenly she was completely mute, blinking, staring into his white eyes.

"Yamanaka-san," he began slowly, "There is something I have been meaning to ask you for a very long time, that I have been thinking about."

Reaching into the folds of his kimono, he pulled out a small velvet box.

Oh no, Tenten thought nervously, this cannot be happening. This _cannot_ be happening. I've dreamed about this since I was fifteen and--oh my _God, _it's happening!

Neji opened the box. Inside lay a thin silver band, with a diamond the size of her head framed by two round violet seed pearls.

"Yamanaka Tenten," she looked up into his earnest eyes. "Will you marry me?"

**.-.-.-.-.**

How do you like THEM apples?

So for me, school starts on August 13th, and with two AP classes and extremely homework-inclined teachers, and I figure with that workload and my constantly overdramatic social life, I'm bound to be a little harried and unable to upload for large period of time. So while I still have my afternoons free, I will attempt to churn out a few chapters a week, so keep checking back!

For those of you who don't review, that's like pirating a song. If you have the time to Add to Favorites or whatever silly thing they have down there, you have the time to drop a line. Be polite and review.

To my lovely reviewers: you are a dream. And I feel grateful enough to give gifts in my stories to my favorite reviewers. PM me. We'll see what we can do. Right, Kerry? -wink- don't forget that picture.

Till Thursday;

Kismet.


	9. From a Mountain

_Special thanks to Kerry Dennis for being an especially doting beta lately. Here's a present for you! Thanks!_

_NOTE: read A/N at bottom for optimal chapter enjoyment. Have fun!_

**.-.-.-.-.**

**FROM A MOUNTAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CABINS**

**.-.-.-.-.**

Hinata had been recruited immediately the next morning for her reputation as the closest thing Neji considered to be family (she _was_ family, but Neji was extremely hostile to any other Hyuuga, and the topic was therefore better off left alone). The poor blushing girl had been hustled in, bearing Tenten's salvaged hair ornaments, shoved into a fluffy white bathrobe and forced upon a pint of ice cream, all the while stumbling and fretting in mortification.

"Hinata-chan," Ino smiled pleasantly, patting the space beside her. She lounged on pile of cushions and pillows the girls had dragged from their rooms (and, admittedly, others'), propped up and arranged in soft piles against Tenten's bed. Tenten herself was belly-down on a pile of pillows, positioned on a hammock she had somehow erected, Sakura half-under and half-beside the hammock on a pile of comforters, under several layers of blankets, cradling her ice-cream in her hands.

"Okay, so everyone's here," Sakura rested her chin on her hand, popping open the lid of her Rocky Road ice-cream carton with the other. "So, Tenten, what's this about? Or is it just gossip time?"

"I heard Temari went back to Sand," Ino grinned smugly. "Bitch's afraid if she stays here she's gonna start a war."

Sakura scrunched up her nose. "Well, good, isn't that what I'm getting married for, to avoid a war?"

Ino shrugged. "Yeah."

"SPEAKING of marriages," Tenten interjected loudly, "I've got a pretty surprise."

She lifted her hand.

Ino and Sakura screamed.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygooooooooood!" The blonde squealed, darting up and snatching the glittering finger immediately, almost knocking over poor Hinata in her mad frenzy. She lifted a trembling finger and pointed accusingly at her sister.

"Hyuuga Neji."

Tenten immediately slammed her head into her massive fuzzy purple body pillow. "Nrrgheah."

Ino turned triumphantly to Hinata.

"Hyuuga Neji!"

Hinata flushed. "Eh…yeah…"

Sakura sat up, shifting a little to get comfortable.

"…_you comprehend, Tenten-san?"_

"_Sasuke-san, this is most inappropriate of you."_

"_Ya-ma-na-ka Ten-ten-san, do not forget, please, that I know your secret."_

"_S-Sasuke-san, I…"_

"_He doesn't have to know. Now, there must be something you can get for me out of Itachi, isn't there?"_

"_If this is a promise you intend to keep, Sasuke-san, I agree."_

"So what are you going to tell him?" the pink haired girl questioned, cocking her head.

Tenten shrugged, picking up a hair stick from the group and chucking it right back down. "I don't know. He doesn't love me. It's all so sudden, and random, and it's _weird. _And he doesn't _love _me, ne, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed into her vanilla ice-cream. "I--I--"

"Yes, see, there!" Tenten wrenched the ring off of her finger, turned onto her back and watched it glitter in the light. "He doesn't. It's not a marriage of love. It's purely _political_."

Sakura snorted in an extremely unladylike way.

"_Every_ engagement in this room is _political_, Tenten. I guess the love thing has to grow."

"Yeah," Ino added slowly, "Sakura's getting sold to make an alliance and prevent a war, Hinata's engaged to Naruto to make an alliance and--no offense, sweetie--"

"N-none taken…?"

"--so she's out of the way for Neji and Hanabi. And seriously, Neji's winning, so if you marry Neji, you'll get us another alliance and you'll be queen!"

Sakura smirked. "We'll all be queen. I'll be queen of Honoo if Itachi refuses to marry, Hinata will definitely be queen of Kusa, and Tenten, you can join the club and be queen of Haku. Now, in fact," her smirk grew bigger than the sun, "The only person in this room who won't be queen is Ino."

Ino stuck out her tongue.

"Then I'll rule Mizu and kick y'all's asses. Or maybe I'll go rule Suna."

The attention suddenly shifted to Ino.

"Gaara?" Tenten gasped, "_No._"

"He's a good chess player," Ino defended with an evil grin, "And face it, I'm going to be needing an escort to all these parties, and he will be needing a pretty thing on his arm, so how much better can it get than the gorgeous la principessa of Mizu?" she flipped her blonde hair and posed, and they all laughed.

With a sigh, Tenten slipped the ring back onto her finger.

"Guys, what am I going to do?"

Sakura cocked her head, plopping another cold spoonful into her mouth, "Say yes," she baited, "There's nothing stopping you."

And Tenten froze.

"Oh, _no_. I completely forgot. Ino."

Her sister turned and smiled. "What?"

Tenten put her hands on either side of Ino's face, stared into her eyes and said, solemnly, "Uchiha Sasuke. He _knows_."

Ino's eyes grew wide as the other two girls stared at each other in confusion. "Oh _no. _Oh no is right. What does he want?"

"Itachi," Tenten sighed. "I can't be engaged to Neji and still get _Itachi_. Ino, what am I going to do?"

The blonde opened her mouth, but was interrupted but a suddenly serious Hinata.

"Tenten-chan, you are going to say yes to Neji-nii-san, because I think Neji-nii-san loves you."

The three other heads turned to her.

"What? Why?" Tenten demanded, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because," Hinata replied steadily, her eyes lowering to her lap. "I recognize that ring. That ring--it's Neji-nii-san's mother's."

**.-.-.-.-.**

After a few days of spending her afternoons with Sasuke, Sakura had come to the conclusion that to Sasuke, she was a bit like that constantly yapping puppy in one's room that one can't help but be a little fond of. And, Sakura decided, Sasuke was, at least, fond of her presence. He didn't hate her very existence, which was very exciting.

On Monday, Sasuke had politely accosted her from her room unannounced, making Tenten twittery and nervous and a little frightened. Sakura had escaped the clutches of a Yamanaka Tenten Apocalyptic Breakdown in a cute yellow skirt splashed with large yellow daisies and a crisp, pressed white button-up shirt to match, as well as a light sweater tied around her neck in soft white wool. Sasuke had taken her out of the gates of the castle in an open carriage, into the village where tiny little shops and booths waited to be explored.

"Thank you," she had said every time he purchased for her a trinket that caught her eye. And, once, "Why the sudden voyage?"

"Because," he had replied rather blandly, ordering another package delivered to her rooms, "I have heard plenty from Naruto to understand that this is how courting works."

"You don't need to court me, Sasuke-kun," she had demurred, as she followed him down the street, "We're engaged."

He had simply ended their conversation with a final, "It's the proper thing to do," before sending a flying missive to a local sushi bistro and ushering Sakura into another boutique.

Sakura observed during this trip that Sasuke did not talk much, or even change the expression on his face much. He intimidated most shopkeepers, he didn't care to pay much actual attention to her, and he didn't eat anything but onigiri and tomatoes. But the thought was still there, and Sakura appreciated it as a way of getting to know the man she was going to marry. No doubt Sasuke thought the same way, as he hit her with a barrage of questions about everything and anything, avoiding the topic of family as much as he could.

Her favorite color was (of course) pink, but also green and white.

Her favorite flower was the orchid, but she also had a preference for lilies and primroses.

She liked to sleep in and start her morning with a kick of caffeine and a good long soak in the tub.

She liked ramen (Sasuke commented that this would completely over joy Naruto), beef or miso, and liked to have her meals sent up to Tenten's rooms instead of hers. She loved fruit, and had a bowl of berries and cream with every meal.

She loved her sisters; they were inseparable, and a little more than a bit devious.

No, she was a rather poor fighter, unlike both her siblings she was fragile as a child and never received the training. But she could deliver a pretty sick punch.

Sasuke dropped her off at her door and told her bluntly to be ready at noon tomorrow.

Sakura returned to her rooms that night content and a little weary, only to face a very pissed-off Ino, surrounded by piles of packages from the markets. Sakura had no idea Sasuke had bought her so much. She wondered if _he_ did.

On Tuesday she was up at nine, dressing and primping as much as she could, and met Sasuke in a short red baby doll dress with white piping and lace, black tights and red pumps, her hair curled to perfection and secured with a red bow. He merely cocked an eyebrow and smirked a little, telling her she looked like a cherry. "I was going for tomato," she replied. He only smiled in response.

He took her to the lake, where weeping willows were shivering with the slight breeze. He let her wade in the lake while he waited, turned when she pulled her tights back on, and watched as she climbed one of the willows, sliding down the branch and letting it bend, swinging her feet and laughing.

"This reminds me of a song," she said happily, "It's pretty."

"Sing it," he didn't sound so much like he cared if she did or not. But she obliged him

_Snow won't stick to thee, weeping willow_

_The cold air won't blow open the window_

_You've made it through the storm this far,_

_You've done this dear, it won't be hard, well_

_Snow won't stick to the weeping willows_

_Summer was painted on our skin, and the secrets hidden in our childish lips_

_They'd die for a kiss_

_Fall was always left in your eyes, just a fleck of yellow light_

_Like the sunrise_

_Like the twilight_

And she looked up to see exactly that.

He said, "You're not bad. Come down."

She did, and discovered a large pink blanket on the ground, a vase with a single orchid, and a picnic basket.

She said, "Thank you."

She noticed he did not eat, only watched her and the ripples on the lake, flipping stones into the water. He did not say anything, just waited until she popped the last strawberry into her mouth. He handed her the red shoes, and led her to a clearing where two horses waited: one black stallion, one pure white mare. When she confessed she had never been on a horse, he rolled his eyes, hoisted her on top of the gentle mare (she screamed) and taught her slowly.

They raced back to the castle, and almost knocked Shikamaru out of a tree as they flew across the hills. He won.

On Wednesday, Sasuke arrived much later than usual. "Change," he said when he saw her blue cotton dress, "We're going _out_."

She took one look at his suit and sweater, understood this, and returned in a deep violet chiffon dress with white silk gloves, pinning her hair up with a few hair pins and a large blue flower. He waited as she wrestled with Tenten's shoe closet, emerging with a pair of glittering violet strappy sandals, and then they were off.

He said, "I know who sang your willow song."

He took her to a box in an auditorium. They sat and watched and listened as the singer took them through many melodies, some upbeat, some gentle, some jazzy. And then at the end the girl on the stage looked right at Sakura, and she sang, "Snow won't stick to thee, weeping willow," and Sakura smiled right back and sang it with her.

Sasuke purchased her several of the singer's recordings. She was surprised when they did not return to the castle when they left the building, but got back into the carriage and rode in a different direction.

"You like music," he told her.

"Yes," she replied.

They arrived at the entrance of a massive opera house. Sakura could only gape at the golden statues, the marble floors, the elegant winding staircase, the red velvet curtains. Sasuke took her to another box, larger, more elegant, and he ordered two glasses of champagne and some dinner. Halfway through the meal, the show began, and Sakura could not for the life of her finish her dinner from giggling and laughing at the character's antics, and staring in awe at the lead female, whose voice soared octaves above what Sakura believed the human voice could deliver.

"I wish I could sing like that," Sakura said wistfully as they left _Candide._

Sasuke said nothing and took her home.

On Thursday Sasuke sent the book _Candide: ou l'Optimiste_ up to her room at nine in the morning. She woke with it on her bedside table, and immediately nestled up with it on the balcony with her morning coffee. A little note in the cover jacket told Sakura that Sasuke had to go visit his duchy and would be back later that day, and that he had left the book with instructions to sent it to her. Another note told her to inform Tenten that Itachi had been discovered at _his_ duchy, and she could cease to worry about his previously unknown whereabouts. Sakura sincerely doubted Tenten had paid his disappearance a thought, but went and tucked the second note into the sleeping girl's dressing gown anyways.

At eleven, Gaara showed up (to Sakura's complete shock) and asked for Ino, who appeared immediately in a short shapeless cream-colored sequined, frock, and looked gorgeous in it. She ushered Gaara to wait outside, before twisting her long hair up into a big golden bun and tying it in place with a big drooping beige bow. She left in Sakura's beige boots and waved goodbye before disappearing from sight.

Sakura decided that whole situation was too weird to think about and went back to her book.

At two Neji appeared and let himself in. He looked at her, curled up in the swinging chair in her dressing gown and bunny slippers, and disappeared into Tenten's quarters. He came back out two seconds later, demanded she go wake her sister, and sat himself down on the chair beside her. Sakura obliged him willingly, and Tenten was up within fifteen minutes, completely mortified at Neji's presence on her balcony. She put on a lilac dress in silk and lawn, and Sakura helped her curl and put up her hair with a purple comb.

"Is he expecting an answer?" she asked her worriedly. Sakura shrugged.

"He doesn't look like he's expecting anything."

"Okay," Tenten breathed, brushing on a light gloss, "Okay. Thanks, Sakura."

"No pro," the pink-haired girl replied and retreated back to read. At Neji's questioning stare she added, "She's coming, she's coming."

Tenten came. Neji bowed. They went.

_Well_, Sakura thought, _that was at least a lot less weird and unnatural than the Ino and Gaara thing. _

So she kept reading.

At dinner, Ino and Tenten had still not returned, and Sakura was about to call for her meal to be sent up when Sasuke arrived, bearing food and cake.

"Hey," he said, then, "You are _not_ decent" when Sakura jumped and stood up.

She shrugged. "You didn't give me time to go and get pretty for you," she replied. "What's that?"

He shrugged. "Food."

She glared up at him. "Fine," she grabbed the boxes from his arms, "I'll just have to find out my_self._"

In the first and biggest box were several plates. She took them out and placed them on the nearby table slowly. There was grilled salmon steak, baked potato wedges and a green salad on each plate, plus smaller plates full of sushi, ginger, marzipan fruit and pickled radish.

"You brought me dinner?"

He shrugged.

With a grin, she launched herself and caught him around the neck. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Hn," he said, but lifted a hand and rubbed her hair a little.

"Come eat with me," she said, grabbing his sleeve and dragging it. He complied, and she didn't think he had eaten at the duchy at all, because he was actually consuming something other than tomatoes.

"Open the other ones," he said when they were done.

Sakura opened the second biggest box, which contained a large cake with sugary white icing and decorative flowers in pink and red. She turned and looked at Sasuke. He shrugged.

"Ino says you like sweet things."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He turned his head and nodded at the last box.

Sakura, imagining some sweet or another, opened the small case.

Inside was a small jeweled box. It was made of thin marble plates, coated with tiny glittering jewels and pearls, edged in silver, the handle in the shape of an arch of flowers. A bit of lining peaked through, revealing baby blue velvet. Cautiously, Sakura lifted the lid, and almost fainted.

Inside lay an array of pearl necklaces, jeweled brooches, shimmering silver and gold chains, pendants, long hanging necklaces, glittering earrings and shining chokers all in a dazzling pile.

"Oh," she managed, "oh."

Sasuke looked a little uncomfortable. "I commissioned it for Ino when we were engaged," he said slowly, "I wasn't going to gift it to you, but…"

Sakura didn't really care what the '_but'_ was. She reached over with one hand and put it on top of his.

"Thank you," she said again.

Sasuke shrugged and mussed up the top of her hair. "Welcome."

After a few more moments of staring into the box, Sasuke stood and called Ayame to clean up, before moving to leave. Sakura hesitantly followed, handing the jeweled box to her lady's maid.

"See you tomorrow," he said.

She smiled and nodded. He paused, patted her cheek a little awkwardly, and disappeared.

**.-.-.-.-.**

He didn't show up the next day.

Or the next.

So you could say Sakura was a little worried. Unless Sasuke vanished to his duchy like his brother did, Sakura was pretty sure something was very wrong.

But she was not one to pry.

She spent her week with Ino when Gaara went back to Suna to retrieve Temari. They gossiped a lot, laughed about the possible retributions of Shikamaru's return to Mizu, painted their nails (to the horror of Takuda's manicurist) and listened to the recordings that Sasuke had bought Sakura. Sometimes, when Tenten popped back in from a date with Neji, the two younger girls would demand she judge a sing-off on the songs they had learned. To Sakura's chagrin, Ino always, always won.

Four days after Sasuke's disappearance, Ino's clothes arrived, and they spend the day organizing, packing and reorganizing their shared closet. Sakura's new clothes held all the drawers, shelves, cabinets and hangers on her side of the walk-in closet, but Ino's half was decidedly more impressive. She hung her everyday clothes on hangers on the wooden pole, her more wrinkle-affected gowns beside them, and piled more on the shelves on top, with her underclothes and things in her drawers. And still, underneath the hems of the hung-up dresses, several of Ino's large chests sat open and spilling clothes and jewels. Ino just smiled apologetically at Sakura's look of horror and kept at her organizing.

They liked to sit on the hammock and swing on the balcony, looking through the openings in the marble rail to the people below, occasionally shouting a "yoo-hoo!" down to some passing person and sometimes naughtily throw some trash. The latter always earned suspicious glances from the royal gardeners.

Ino always had sweet drinks and rich food sent up regularly. Together with their lounging a weight concern appeared.

"We're going to get fat, you know," Sakura said one time, nibbling a crackling.

"Yes," Ino agreed, "We won't fit in our evening gowns."

"Well," Sakura grinned. "That's what we have Takuda-san for."

They had smiled at each other, and kept on enjoying their lazy, boy-less days.

A week after Sasuke vanished, Ino sat on the hammock and sketched Sakura with a piece of charcoal. As her hand whipped rapidly across the page, she hummed, and sang.

_We wait for the bus that's going to nowhere_

_In my plaid dress and burgundy shoes_

_In your red lipstick and lilac kerchief, you're the most pretty lady in the room, sun._

_The bus driver smiles, a dime and a nickel_

_We climb on our seats, the vinyl is cold_

_Michelle ma Belle, the song that you loved then, you hold my hand and sing to yourself_

_Sun, sun_

_Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun…_

"What is that?" Sakura asked.

"Hm?" Ino looked up. "Don't move. It's my mother's favorite song. It was very popular a while ago, when she married my father. I think they played it at their wedding." With one final flourish Ino finished.

"There," she smiled, "Done."

Before Sakura could reach forward and examine her own portrait, Tenten burst into the room, her long green skirt billowing.

"I think I know why Sasuke's been gone," the brunette said slowly.

Heads whipped up immediately.

"What? Why?"

"Itachi's back," Tenten said, scooping up a pile of papers and books from a rocking chair and dumping it on the group, "He sent a missive last Friday morning, Naruto just told. God knows what Sasuke's been doing, but I'm pretty sure you won't be seeing him for a while. And," Tenten grimaced as she pulled off a heel, "Itachi brought something with him. Some_one_, rather."

"Who?" Ino inquired.

"You'll have to see it to believe it," Tenten grinned. The grin turned into a frown as she took in their undressed states. Both girls wore only a sleeping shift. "Get dressed," Tenten sighed with a sniff. "And come down with me."

**.-.-.-.-.**

The main hall looked exactly as the day Sakura and Tenten arrived. The world's nobility once again lined the walls, but this time, it was not Sakura walking down the marble hall, but Itachi, and whoever he brought with him. Whispers were floating up and down the length of the hall, curious nobles trying to discover the identity of Itachi's guest.

Sakura spotted Naruto and Hinata beside the King, and moved to stand beside him. _Now I understand this dress, _Sakura thought. She had been forced into a white empire-waisted silk ensemble, with off-the-shoulder fluttering satin sleeves and a large silk bow under her breasts. A pair of white satin wrist gloves was on her hands, and her hair was viciously curled.

Tenten had changed into a champagne colored dress, sleeveless, tight from chest to knee, then flowing out in a satin puff. She had managed to twist her hair from hairline to nape of neck, and tied it there with a large yellow bow. Ino was wearing midnight blue, also strapless, the skirt of which wrapped around and around itself in a curious weave.

Sakura nudged Naruto. "What's going on?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his yellow kimono. "It's Itachi," he whispered discreetly, as Tenten moved to stand beside Neji. "He brought a _girl_." The last word came out almost in awe. "He never brings a_ girl_ back_."_

Sakura strained to see, but failed. "Where's Sasuke?" she prodded. Naruto shrugged, looking up to the faces of Fugaku and Mikoto. "They don't look pleased he's not here," she whispered. Naruto nodded, and motioned for her to be quiet. The doors at the end of the hall opened, and the entire hall silenced.

Tenten slipped in quietly between Sakura and Ino. The three exchanged glances, before Tenten whispered, "I said _yes--_"

Ino almost squealed, but her sister clapped a hand over her mouth.

"--which means, we've got a bit of a problem."

Before Ino could reply, Itachi came into view and Sakura poked her companions to shut them up.

"Look," she whispered. "Who is that?"

A tall, thin girl was escorted by Itachi. She was pale, with big brown eyes, a straight nose and a small, pert mouth, wearing a rather curt smile. Her hair was split on the far right side of her head, her bangs neatly swept along that line, the rest of her hair pulled into an ovular updo on the top of her head, embedded with two glistening, jeweled flowers. A long, brown ponytail was secured with a gold bow at the nape of her neck and flowed to her waist.

She wore a light gold dress, with a square neck and thick straps, and an empire waist. Above the golden ribbon that sequestered the upper section of the gown were gold satin flowers with jeweled centers, covering the entirety of her chest and shoulders, the skirt being simply gold with an overlay of the same glittering satin as the small flowers. Across her elbows was draped a dark, mead-colored shawl.

"It's the daughter of the Margrave of Chihana, Lady Kiama," Naruto whispered, "It's this big chunk of ranch land near Itachi's duchy."

"What do you call her?" Sakura whispered, "A margravette?"

Naruto grinned and turned away.

"Hey," Ino poked Tenten, her eyes darting from her sister to Lady Kiama, "Doesn't she look a little bit like--?"

"A lot like," Sakura interjected.

"Yeah," Tenten replied, smoothing down the front of her dress, "We've got a _big_ problem."

**.-.-.-.-.**

_As I think some have noticed that the title has nothing to do with the chapter. But since everyone seems so happy for the updates, I thought they might like to know the title of the song that inspired the sudden boost in writing. So here it is, _From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins_ by_ Panic at the Disco _(they dropped the "!"!)_

_SONGS ARE:_

Weeping Willow_ by_ The Hush Sound

Burgundy Shoes _by_ Patti Griffin

_They're both really gorgeous songs, listening to them while reading and writing these chapters inspired my imagination, so I suggest you do too. Personally Weeping Willow is not my favorite Hush Sound piece, but it fit the moment. Sort of._

_As always, review please!_

**NOTE**

_FF seems to be replicating parts of the original text by itself. I don't know why it does that, but if anyone notices any duplications, please let my know so I can delete it. Thanks!_


	10. The Girl With the Flaxen Hair

_BIG LONG A/N:_

_So I've been getting up-to-date with the manga, and turns out, Sasuke will apparently never rise from being the Avenger because he just killed Itachi, and now he's off to kill the leaders of Konoha, because they were the ones who created the situation of him killing Itachi, who, after all, was really the martyr. So Manga Sasuke, having no apparent purpose in life other than constantly seeking revenge for people whether it's his business or not, is no longer being taken into consideration during the process of writing _Faute de Mieux. _I like _my_ Sasuke better anyways._

_We are also assuming that within the amount of time that has passed between Sasuke threatening Tenten and the current chapter, most everyone has gotten comfortable with everyone else, therefore I am dropping the formalities._

_Thank you._

**.-.-.-.-.**

**LA FILLE AUX CHEVEAUX DE LIN (THE GIRL WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR)**

**.-.-.-.-.**

"This is bad," Tenten shot over her shoulder as she raced to the lift, "This is very, _very_ bad."

"I know," Ino replied, sounding almost in awe, "I mean, where does someone _find_ someone like that?"

"It's extremely unnatural," Sakura agreed, "Now someone please tell me what is going on and why that girl is making Tenten's life hell."

"Aside from the fact that she looks _exactly like her_?!" Ino snorted as Tenten slammed the lever on the lift. "I am completely in awe of Itachi. He's gone for what, a week? And he comes back with a doppelganger. Tenten, you gotta stop dressing up cause these boys are getting _creepy._"

Tenten shook her head, furrowing her brow. "What am I going to do?" she muttered, stepping off the lift. Ino and Sakura rushed after the billowing satin hem of her gown. They reached the door to their rooms in record time. Tenten viciously grabbed the handlebars, and wrenched the doors open.

"Hello," said Sasuke.

"Dear _God_," said Tenten.

**.-.-.-.-.**

The four nobles calmly sat in sleek wooden chairs around Tenten's four-sided mahogany coffee table, now raised a few feet higher, sipping tea. Tenten's chin rested on her palm, her elbow resting on the tabletop, her eyes on Sasuke.

"So?"

The dark-haired prince looked up. "So what?"

"When are you going to tell him?" she demanded. "Itachi's back with my carbon copy, I guess I'm reasonably useless now."

Sasuke shrugged, his eyes lowering. "No."

Ino looked a little surprised. "No, Sasuke-kun? Well then, what?"

"Okay," Sakura held up her hands. "Somebody, please enlighten me."

There was a brief silence as Ino and Tenten looked at each other, then:

"Tenten's not a virgin," Sasuke said bluntly, calmly stirring his tea, before Ino or Tenten even had a chance to speak.

The brunette gaped. "Oh, you did _not_."

Sasuke took another drink. Tenten sighed, and buried her face in her arms.

"I am _so _dead_._"

Sakura could only gape.

"Um--wha--w--Tenten, _what_? _Who_?"

"Kiba," Ino volunteered cheerfully. Tenten raised her head and threw up her hands.

"Hello! Thanks!"

Ino shrugged. "At least I beat Sasuke-kun to the chase."

Sasuke smirked.

Tenten heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Yeah," she said lamely. "What they said."

Sakura blinked, taking in the information. "Well," the pink-haired girl finally said, "Well, Tenten, you're pretty much screwed."

"Yeah, I know." Tenten shrugged, then paused. "I've been meaning to ask you," she turned to Sasuke, who was now watching them in what could be translated into amusement, "How did _you_ know?"

"I didn't," he replied. "I guessed from how his room is always situated next to yours, wherever you go. You merely confirmed my suspicions."

Tenten only gaped.

"He's good," Ino chirped.

"You know," Sakura followed slowly, "If you were to pick one person to marry when you are not virgin and pray they would not find out and if they did they would not care, Neji-san was probably not it."

Sasuke blinked at this information. "When did this occur?"

"Today," Sakura supplemented.

"Yeah," Ino nodded. "The Hyuuga are very conservative and _extremely _anal about this stuff. Neji's going to _freak_."

"I _know_," Tenten huffed. "I didn't want him finding out and…you know…not considering me." Her shoulders slumped. "I guess that's all over now."

"I won't tell yet," Sasuke said suddenly, looking at Tenten. "You have an opportunity now. You can still accomplish this task."

Tenten stared at him. "Are you--no," she paused. "I don't see a way. I will not be able to accompany him at court events, nor speak with him privately, or get close to him with a show of intimacy, because of Neji and…Kiama."

"No," Sasuke repeated. "This betters your chances."

Tenten started at him, as if trying to visually analyze his brain. "How?"

Sasuke stood up, and Sakura followed, curtsying. He nodded at her, she sat back down, and he made to leave.

"Kiama is living in the guest quarters in Itachi's rooms. She will take her meals with him."

He opened the door, turned, and looked directly at Tenten.

"Think about it," he said slowly. "She looks exactly like you."

The room was silent as the click of the front door shutting sounded.

Sakura and Ino turned to look at Tenten. The brunette suddenly straightened, blinked and smiled. She turned, looking them in the eyes, saying, slowly,

"And I look exactly like her."

Ino smiled.

"It's reconnaissance time."

**.-.-.-.-.**

"She's in the second main drawing-room on the second floor," Ino reported as she entered the room. "Kikumo saw her and sent me a missive."

"Good," Tenten replied curtly, "Come on, get ready and let's go."

Tenten pulled on a short, fluttering white silk dress, scoop-necked and lined with lace and ribbon, with large satin flowers trailing down one side, linked with curling sewn-on silver sequins. Under it she wore a pair of black fishnets, and white pumps with silver details.

"Good?" the brunette cocked her head.

Ino nodded, rubbing the billowing sleeve of her sea green dress. "Yeah," she decided finally as Tenten loosely braided her hair. "It's distinctive. A margrave's daughter would _never_ dare dress like a hooker at Court."

Tenten made a face at her sister and called Sakura, who rushed out in a striped black satin and silk number, shapeless but cinched at the waist with a black leather belt. "Okay," she huffed, "let's go."

The three made their way down the hallways and stairs, towards the drawing-room.

"Hey," Ino whispered to Tenten, "People are staring at you."

"I know," the brunette replied, "I don't know why. Do I _really_ look like a hooker?"

Ino shook her head. "I was just _kidding_. You look cute."

Sakura frowned at the glances and whispers. "This is strange," she said, "Ino's worn shorter things and nobody's stared before."

Tenten shrugged as they reached the open doorway of the drawing-room. "Whatever," she said, turning her head as she entered. "Let's just find--"

She stopped abruptly, staring.

"What?" Ino popped in next to her sister. "Why d'you--oh."

There, next to one of the tall windows, nestled comfortably in a velvet upholstered chair, was Kiama…her hair braided, in the same white dress, the same black nets and the same pumps.

"This is the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Sakura deadpanned, "And I've been to gypsy caravan shows."

"No wonder they were staring," Ino whispered.

Tenten took a deep breath, and walked forward.

"Hi," she smiled, sitting down across from her doppelganger, "Do you mind if I sit here? I'm Yamanaka Tenten, First Princess of Mizu."

Kiama looked up from the book in her lap and flashed the exact same smile back. "Tachibana Kiama, of Chihana," she intoned in the same pleasant soprano voice, with the same impeccable manners. "Please, sit, Tenten-sama, and how do you do."

"She's acting like nothing's weird," Ino reported to Sakura, her eyes flickering from the rim of her cup a few tables down. "Like she doesn't notice she's got an exact replica."

"That's ridiculous," Sakura replied, across from her, staring at the two via hand mirror, pretending to be fixing her makeup.

"I know," Ino looked down discreetly. "It's so weird. It's like they're twins, except I know they're not. It's like I have _two_ big sisters."

"It's creepy and it's freaking me out."

"How are they wearing the same thing? Is she reading Ten's mind or something?"

"I don't know. But it's not normal."

"They have the _exact same hair_. Look, that girl's combed her bangs down. And they're wearing the _exact same thing._ This is _impossible_, Sakura_._ Tenten has Takuda privately design and tailor _everything_ she has. I know, because otou-san won't let me do it, it costs him a _fortune._"

"They have the _same_ expressions, Ino, look! See?"

Kiama was wearing Tenten's smile right back at her.

Ino shuddered. "Okay, I can no longer express the degree of disturbance I am experiencing right now. I could be scarred _forever_. My big sister has a _clone_."

Sakura giggled. "How will you sleep at night?"

Ino glared. "No. This is _not funny._ Don't you _dare_ laugh at me. My entire childhood can be called into doubt. My--Sakura, look, it's Neji!"

Sakura paused, and discreetly shifted to a seat with the back to the window so she could spot Neji from the corner of her eye.

The white-eyed man strode swiftly down the aisle, but suddenly stopped short when he neared and realized there were two identical versions of his fiancée sitting at the table. Both lifted their face simultaneously and looked at him with the same smile. Neji was a bit unnerved.

"Tenten?" he said slowly, eyes shifting from one face to another.

"Yeah," the one on the right said. "Sorry, Kiama-chan, this is my fiancé, Hyuuga Neji, of Haku." Kiama nodded, lowering her head in a miniature bow to the higher status, and murmured politely with Tenten's voice. "I think I have to go," Tenten said to her.

She grinned and wriggled her fingers at the other, who bent down, retrieved the fallen book and replicated the gesture perfectly, before burying her face back into her novel. Tenten stood up, grabbed Neji, and discreetly weaved through a few shelves of books and behind the grand piano before circling back to the table where Ino and Sakura waited anxiously.

"What was that?" Neji demanded as he was forced into the chair opposite Sakura.

"Weird," Sakura told him as Tenten seated herself in the remaining chintz chair, "Creepy, unnatural, freaky, disturbing, uncanny, eerie, peculiar, queer and altogether very frightening."

Neji turned to Tenten.

"That's Lady Kiama," Tenten explained with a sigh as a butler came over to offer refreshments, "From earlier today."

"Was she exactly like you when she arrived?" he questioned.

"You didn't _notice_?" Ino stared at him like he had sprouted five more heads as she dropped two sugar cubes into her coffee.

"I wasn't watching," he snapped defensively.

Ino shrugged, and riveted her attention back onto her sister.

"Well?" she demanded.

Tenten shuddered. "It was completely unnerving. It was like talking to _myself_," she frowned. "She's read everything I've read, she knows all the music I know, she's fully educated in weapons combat…Itachi's a _freak_, where did he _get_ her?"

"Apparently and conveniently at the estate of the Margrave of Chihana," Neji replied sarcastically. "This is an annoyance. It is giving me a headache."

"Oh, just pretend she's me, you wouldn't even know the difference," Tenten replied flippantly.

"So what, do I marry both of you?" he retorted.

"That would be interesting," Ino crowed. Both Tenten and Neji shot disproving glances at her.

Another butler arrived with a missive summoning the Neji to Sasuke. With a twitch of the eye he opened the note, skimmed it quickly, and sighed. With an extremely irked expression, Neji grudgingly left the discussion on the two freakishly similar girls.

"Well, in any case, this has been sort of useful," Tenten surmised when he was out of earshot. "I'd like to think this clothing fiasco was a fluke, but maybe it's not. Let's resume tomorrow."

Ino and Sakura shrugged and agreed.

In the two following weeks the three found Kiama twice in the gardens, once in the stables, and in five of the seven libraries, three of the six drawing rooms, the dance hall, the astronomy tower and once the kitchen. Every single time, she had replicated Tenten's exact hairstyle, makeup and clothing. Updos, highlights, lowlights, curls, waves, sleek pulls, twists, flowers, ribbons, pins, pearls. Blue cotton, pink satin, red silk, white eyelet lace, lavender gowns, yellow tunics, lilac dresses, midnight frocks and emerald shifts. Every shoe Tenten owned she had…heck, every shoe Tenten _borrowed_ to test her she had, too. But while at every meeting Sakura and Ino experienced the queer tingling sensation of Kiama unnatural clone-like appearance, Tenten's smile just grew wider and wider, the one thing Kiama could not replicate, lacking the bubbling smugness behind it.

"I'm extremely safe," she smirked to Ino and Sakura everytime they returned to their quarters, "Now I know, anything I wear that day, she'll be wearing the exact same thing. God knows how, though."

"This is impossible," Ino huffed the last day, "Is there _nothing_ different about her attitude, at all?"

"Yes," Tenten replied, to their surprise. "Her voice is the slightest bit higher, but the difference _is_ detectable in consistent conversation. When she smiles, she has a dimple on her chin. And she giggleds."

She strode in her bottle green chiffon dress right to the door on the side of her receiving room wall. Sakura suddenly flushed a deep red, realizing the strangeness of the placement of the room. "Kiba," Tenten knocked twice, and without waiting for an answer abruptly opened the door.

Kiba sat on a window seat on the far side of the room. It was large and airy, Sakura observed, much more high class for any servant _she_ ever had. There was a large, slightly mussed bed against one wall, and after several feet of carpet, a small marble-tiled area holding two chintz chairs and a wood table, facing a fireplace. Several pictures of Tenten were on the mantle, along with a smaller number of his dog, his mother and his sister. Tenten did not seem at all flustered or embarrassed by the army of her face on his wall at all.

Kiba had jumped a little when they entered. "Hey," he grinned, a little rumpled. "Haven't seen you in a while, princess. Sorry, I didn't hear you knock." Tenten smiled back and gave him a hug. "And Ino-chan," he turned to her. "Hey." Ino grinned and gave a little wave, before seating herself comfortably on the edge of his bed. Tenten paused a little before taking one of the chintz chairs.

Sakura stood by the door, staring at a picture of Tenten on Kiba's mantle. In it, she wore a dress of white lace and beading, her face frozen in a pretty smile, her hair loose and wavy and strung with peals, flying free behind her. She was barefooted, running, her face angled slightly to the side, and Kiba was a few feet behind her, chasing the escaped princess with a frantic expression on his face.

_He isn't just _sleeping_ with her,_ Sakura thought; _I think he really _loves_ her…_

"Sakura?"

She looked up into Kiba's eyes. "Are you just gonna stand there or what?" he grinned at her.

She paused. "Wait," she said, remembering something. "Wait, I have something of yours."

Sakura rushed back to her room, making a beeline for her closet. _Where it is…where is it…_

She finally dug out the folded red gown she had worn on her first day in Honoo. Feeling the folds of clothing under it, her fingers brushed something glossy and stiff, and, with a triumphant "Ha!", she pulled it out.

With a smile, she rushed back to Kiba's room.

**.-.-.-.-.**

"Here," Sakura announced smugly, offering Kiba the photo.

He took it with wide eyes, staring at the smiling girl in the picture. Tenten and Ino leaned over to see, but this one photo he angled away from their prying eyes. Tenten pouted cutely, and Ino rolled her eyes. But Kiba was still staring at the photo.

"Where did you--?"

Sakura shrugged, and smiled.

Kiba coughed. "Thanks," he muttered, and tucked it into a pocket of his white button-up shirt. Sakura grinned. "No problem," she offered, and plopped down next to Ino.

"So," Kiba cleared his throat and leaned forward, his arms propped on his legs. "What's this about?"

Tenten blushed a little. "Well, um…you know how Sasuke…knows…?"

Kiba shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah?"

"Well, you know how he wants the thing from Itachi?"

"Yeah."

"Hold on," Ino snapped, "You told _him_ before you told _me?_ I'm your _sister_!"

Tenten ignored her.

"Were you down there, when that girl came in?" she asked him.

Kiba shrugged again. "Yeah. I didn't really see her face, though."

Tenten grinned mischievously. "I need you to distract her for me, for a few hours, tomorrow night. Can you do it?"

"Sure," he replied. "No problem."

"Thanks," she smiled at him, standing up, "I owe you one."

Kiba just grinned. "I know."

"Hold up," Sakura jumped to a standing position. "That's it? No questions asked? Nothing?"

"You _obviously_ don't know how it works with these two," Ino patronized, pulling Sakura to the door. "There's _never_ any questions asked. He just _does it_. Like a puppy."

Kiba threw a pillow at her head. She yelped, turned, and stuck out her tongue.

"Coming, Tenten?" Sakura glanced at the brunette, still stationary by Kiba.

"You guys go ahead, wait in my room," she said imperatively. "I want to talk to Kiba for just a sec."

"Okay," Ino dragged Sakura out yelping. "See you in a sec, sis."

The door clicked behind the two, and they were alone.

Kiba stood, tucking his hands in his pockets. Tenten was silent.

"So," he nudged her, "Something you wanted to say?"

She shifted uncomfortably, then looked up into his eyes.

"Kiba," she said softly, "You know…you know about Neji, right? That…we're engaged."

Kiba sighed, and turned around, walking to the window.

"Yeah, I heard. Congrats, by the way."

"Kiba…"

She had followed him to the window.

"I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath, and sighed heavily, closing his eyes. A few moments later, he turned, and looked down at her with a smile.

"It's okay, Ten. I'm happy for you."

She didn't look convinced.

"Really," he insisted. He grinned, and put a hand on her head. "Come on, they're waiting for you."

He took her hand, and pulled her to the door, opening it. Tenten paused, looking up at him. "You're sure you're okay?"

Kiba grinned, bent, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

He leant to the left and kissed her cheek. She sighed, and looked up at him.

"Okay, then," Tenten smiled. He patted her on the head, and she, smiling, backed to her room, and he closed the door behind her.

He inhaled deeply, before turning and taking her pictures down.

**.-.-.-.-.**

Kiba left at five, in a Tenten-approved blue shirt and black slacks, his hair combed back. "How long do you want her gone?" he asked as she knotted a Winchester on his black tie.

"Give me an hour," Tenten replied, "I think that should be okay. Okay, I'm done."

He straightened, and looked her up and down.

"Damn, you look nice."

Tenten grinned. She had pulled her hair up into a fancy knot on the back of her head. Her gown was shimmering midnight velvet, specked with silver glitter, strapless and tight to the knees before flowing out in comfortable flounces. She had silver shirred earrings on, matching the silver necklace around her neck, and the bracelet on her left wrist.

"You think so?" the brunette smiled, batting her eyelashes. Kiba grinned, slinging an arm over her shoulders. "Yeah."

"Well, then she will too."

"What?"

"Don't ask, you'll get a headache. Let's just say, you'll see when you get there. She's more like me than you think."

"I'll take your word for it, then, love."

Kiba tweaked her nose affectionately, and Tenten retaliated by swatting him playfully. "Kiba, stop it."

"Okay, okay, you two, break it up," Ino teased, popping another grape into her mouth. "Tenten, you are getting _way _too mushy with your ex-lover for someone engaged to _Hyuuga Neji_. You better hope word doesn't get out of this."

Kiba smirked, and grabbed Tenten around the waist, pulling her smack-dab against him. "Who said _ex_-lover?" he purred as Tenten laughed.

"Okay, I get it," Ino snorted, flicking another grape at Kiba. He caught it in his mouth, releasing Tenten.

"Where's Sakura?" the brunette questioned, unfazed.

"Sasuke-hunting, he's exceptionally good at disappearing," her sister replied, to which the former giggled, "Oh."

"Ew," said Kiba. "You're giggling."

"I'm practicing," she grinned. "Oh yeah," Tenten poked Kiba on the nose. "She giggles."

He looked horrified.

"Have fun!" Tenten chirped, before pushing him out the door, silencing his "But-but-but-but-but--"

"Count to ten, Ino," the brunette commanded, smoothing down the back of her hair. The blonde obeyed.

"Ten," she announced.

"Bye," Tenten dashed out the door, leaving Ino lounging on the balcony, alone.

"Che," she rolled her eyes. "This sucks."

She threw a grape over the railing.

"Ow."

Ino blinked. _Was that--?_ She rushed to the rail, bending over, eyes searching for a shock of color in the stewing darkness of evening.

"Hey," he said.

She suddenly beamed the sun.

"Gaara!"

**.-.-.-.-.**

Tenten stood in front of Itachi's imposing black oak doors, practicing the art of breathing. She was so nervous, she had forgotten.

_At least nobody's looking at me weird anymore,_ she thought, _I guess this means Kiama wore the same thing tonight._

Deciding she couldn't put it off any longer, she knocked.

"Come in," the voice of Itachi commanded, without any real enthusiasm.

_Well_, she thought, _here goes nothing_.

"Itachi-san!" Tenten bounced in, taking her voice up a few notches. Insert giggle. Giggle. "How is Itachi-san tonight?"

The dark-haired Uchiha turned from the window and smiled at her lightly.

"Good evening, Tenten-san. Long time no see."

Tenten's breath caught in her throat.

_Well_, she thought dryly, _it was a good shot._

"Come in," Itachi offered, sitting down on one of the dark cushions placed by his tea table, "Sit down."

"You're not mad?" Tenten questioned tentatively.

"I knew you were going to come," he told her simply, "It was a good effort on my cute little brother's part."

Tenten shrugged. "It didn't word." She sat down across from the older man. "How are you, Uchiha-san?"

"No need for pleasantries," he waved her off, setting his chin on a knuckle as he flipped a chess piece between the fingers of his other hand. It was a pawn. "I know what you are here for, and I admit I am not the most entertaining host, so shall we cut to the chase, Tenten-san, or sit it awkward silence?"

"Mangekyou Sharingan," she replied. "Right."

"The secret," Itachi looked into her eyes, setting the pawn down, "is to kill a person close to you."

Tenten blinked.

"_What_?"

Itachi did not say anything.

"So…the King? The Queen? You?"

Itachi smiled sadly. "Family has ceased to matter to Sasuke, ever since the death of my sister years ago."

"I remember that," Tenten heard herself saying. "The funeral."

Itachi nodded.

"I would say, the person most at risk is likely your…sister."

The pause did not even register in Tenten's mind. Her mouth was suddenly dry, her mind, blank.

"Sa-Sakura…?"

Again, Itachi was silent. Tenten closed her eyes, and breathed.

Finally, she opened them.

"And you, Itachi-san?" the princess demanded stubbornly. "Who did Itachi-san kill?"

"Myself," was all he said, and before she knew it, she was back in her room, without any memory of how she got there.

With a sigh, Tenten readied herself for bed, taking a cold bath and a sleeping pill before settling down into her down pillows. But his words echoed in her head, long after she was asleep.

_Sakura…_

* * *

_Hey, it's me again. Yeah, I know, top AND bottom?! Are you kidding me? But this is important for **all of your future reading experience with Faute de Mieux**. At the moment, I have a bit of a dilemna with the Ino pairing. Some people are liking the Gaara thing, because it works in this story. Some are freaking HARDCORE ShikaIno fans (I totally get that, I mean, what is UP with Temari's hair?!). So even if you don't regularly express an opinion on this story, if you have a preference, please tell me so I can see which option is the favorite of the majority._

_Please type **A**. for **ShikaIno**_

_Please type **B**. for **GaaIno**_

_Or just type the pairing you want. Whatever. But I like the code thing._

_Thanks!_


	11. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have

_So…it was really close. Really, _really_ close. Actually, it was a tie. Twelve to twelve. But…_

_Sorry, ShikaIno's. Gaara won this time. Why? Well, here's my reasoning: plot._

_This story is, first and foremost, a SasuSaku work. All pairings and plot twists must conform to this constant, not the other way around. So, because of the way the plot is planned out, Ino _has_ to be with Gaara…or die an unpleasant death. No, really, I mean it. You'll see._

_Sorry, everyone who voted for Shikamaru. I'll write you a one-shot or something. Ok? Ok. Thanks!_

**.-.-.-.-.**

**LYING IS THE MOST FUN A GIRL CAN HAVE WITHOUT TAKING HER CLOTHES OFF**

**.-.-.-.-.**

"Sakura-chan," Naruto beamed proudly, "Say hello to Tsunade-obaa-san!"

And the blonde woman promptly smacked Naruto over the head.

"Ow!"

"Hi," Sakura said nervously. Tsunade was tall, imposing, with a frightening expression on her face, not to mention her boobs were the size of the ocean.

Tsunade sighed, quirking an eyebrow at her charge. "Yamanaka Sakura, huh?" she leaned forward, staring into her face. "I've never trained a Yamanaka before."

"She's a close combat fighter," Tenten piped in from her seat on a boulder nearby. "She's good with her hands."

"No weapon flinging, huh?" Tsunade began to circle Sakura. The pink-haired girl swallowed nervously. "Hmm. How are you with your chakra control?"

Sakura just blinked. "Er--?"

"Never mind," the blonde sighed. "We have a lot of work to do. What do I have? Two months? You told me two months."

Tenten shrugged, taking a gulp of lemonade. "You had two months three weeks ago. It's not my fault you left the second we got here, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade snorted. Sakura flinched.

"With Naruto here, _someone_ has to watch Kusa."

"So who's there now?" Naruto questioned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Tsunade sighed a long-suffering sigh – the kind of sigh Sakura could tell she used quite _frequently_ around Naruto.

"Since you called me here so quickly, I had no choice, Naruto."

The blonde boy suddenly exploded.

"_Jiraiya_?! You put that pervy hermit on _my throne? _Is he sleeping in my bed? Is he eating my ramen? Tsunaaaaaaaaaaaade!!"

Sakura's lip twitched a little. Tsunade ignored the loud blonde boy and explained to Sakura, "Jiraiya is Head of War Council for Kusa. He trained Naruto. He's also…my husband." Her lip twisted at the last word. "However, this has nothing to do with your training. Alright, Sakura-san, let's test you a little."

Without warning Tsunade grabbed Sakura's arm and flipped her. Sakura twisted and pulled, creating a sliding effect on Tsunade's hold, and ended up standing (albeit unbalanced and stumbling) instead of flipped on her back.

"Good reflexes," Tsunade noted, as Tenten smiled proudly at her handiwork. "Okay, please tell me somebody explained chakra to this girl."

Tenten and Ino beamed.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculously useless," she snapped at them. "Chakra is basically energy stored within your body. Channeling your chakra correctly allows for combat maneuvers, as well as the performance of jutsus."

"Okay," Sakura replied, nodding as she dusted off her white breeches.

"Now, what we need to do is make sure you have good chakra control. Close your eyes, girl."

Sakura obeyed.

Tsunade placed both hands on Sakura shoulders, and breathed.

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes snapped open. "What was that?" she whispered cautiously.

"That was your chakra flow," Tsunade told her, a small frown on her lips. "This is strange. Somebody put a lock on your chakra reserve." She shrugged. "No matter. Do you feel it now?"

"Yes," Sakura replied slowly.

"Okay, Sakura-san. Now, try to focus that energy on," Tsunade looked around. "Focus it on your feet," she decided. "Got it? Good. Now, try to climb that oak over there, without your hands."

Sakura stared at her teacher, obviously questioning her sanity.

"Don't look at me like that, girl. If you have focus and control, your chakra will adhere you to the trunk."

With a sigh, Sakura closed her eyes, focused her energy, and placed a foot forward.

And another.

And another.

Tsunade blinked, her mouth hanging open.

"What--how--?"

Her eyes widened, as Sakura reached the half-mark.

"Fast learner…"

She did not stumble, or slip, once. She didn't open her eyes, either.

"Amazing control…"

Tsunade close her gaping lips and shook her head, a grin appearing on her face.

"Five weeks, huh?" she turned to Tenten. The brunette nodded happily.

"Okay," Tsunade watched as Sakura steadily made her way up the tree trunk. "I think I can make something of this girl yet."

"I told you she was smart," Ino whispered to her sister, as Sakura landed on the first branch successfully.

Tenten furrowed her brow. "Ino," she said slowly, "I need to talk to you later."

"Okay," Ino replied happily.

**.-.-.-.-.**

"_What_?!"

The blonde girl was horrified.

"Sakura?! _Kill her?!_ Oh, my God. That family is more twisted than I thought it was!"

She paced across the room, occasionally shooting glances out the window, down to the training grounds where Tsunade was happily whipping Sakura's ass into shape.

"This is horrible," she muttered, turning to face her sister. "This is absolutely _horrible._ We sent Sakura into a _death trap_!"

"Yeah, I know." Tenten sighed, rubbing her temple with her hands. "I can't bring myself to tell Sasuke…I mean, what if he thinks it's worth it and…_does it_?" the last words came out as no more than a taut whisper.

Ino shook her blonde head in agitation. "What do we do?"

"I don't know," Tenten replied honestly. "I guess--" she swallowed deeply, weighing her choices in her head with a heavy heart. She already knew the decision she would make, the conclusion she would come to, but she weighed the options one last time regardless.

"I guess…my sister's life is more important than my happiness."

"She's not really your sister, Ten," Ino sat down next to Tenten on the bed, a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Tenten heaved a deep sigh, closing her eyes and standing up. After a few silent moments, she pivoted, the bright smile on her face contrasting the glittering of tears in her eyes.

"She feels like one, Ino."

"Yeah," the younger whispered, standing up and enveloping her sister in a hug. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm so sorry, Ten."

Tenten smiled. "It's not your fault."

They stood there for a very long time, holding each other in comfort, before Tenten released Ino and stepped back. She took a deep breath, released it in a short puff and plastered her face with a fake bright smile.

"Alright then," she grinned, straightening her dress. "I guess it's time to go see Sasuke, huh?"

**.-.-.-.-.**

"Sakura," he calls, but not really. Sasuke's voice never reaches beyond two decibels. She's noticed that.

Tsunade frowned at Sasuke for interrupting their training session. The black-haired prince shot an apprehensive scowl right back, lifting a hand and pointing it at his opposite wrist. Tsunade blinked, looked down upon her disciple's battered little body, took a look at the sky, and jumped.

"Jeez," she breathes, immediately bending to pick Sakura up, "Why didn't you _tell_ me, you crazy little dolt? It's been _ten hours_."

"I noticed," Sakura smiled wryly, dusting off her extremely mussed clothes. "I tried to tell you, but apparently you couldn't hear me over the _explosives._"

"Explosives?" Sasuke repeated, slightly aghast, reaching her side and touching her elbow protectively. He looked at the ground around him, noticed a serious dilapidation in the amount of trees in the clearing, before snapping his head back up to meet Tsunade with fiery eyes. "You threw _bombs_ at Sakura?!"

"And much more," Tsunade chirped with a smirk. "Get some rest, Sakura-chan. We start _bright and early_ tomorrow."

And with that, she disappeared in a giant puff of smoke.

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh, slumping into Sasuke. He blinked, immediately shifting to support her weight. She leaned on him for a few seconds, before he began leading her away.

"Tough day?" he questioned.

"Oh, you bet. Was training this tough when you were a kid?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

He took one look at her, dirty, tired and extremely overworked.

"Want a bath?"

"That'd be nice."

He took her to his room, reasoning that it was a mile closer than the guest wing of the complex. Her eyelids drooped the entire way, and he had to prop her up against his doorframe while he performed the jutsu that would unlock his heavily protected door. On their journey to the bathroom, Sakura noticed that the entire receiving area was dark and seemed rather blandly decorated. _I guess he doesn't use it much._

"Here," he said, handing her a towel that appeared out of nowhere. "I trust you can make it to the tub without falling over?"

"You think too highly of me," she mumbled grumpily, before snatching the towel and shutting the door in his face.

**.-.-.-.-.**

She resurfaced an hour and a half later; clean, fresh and rejuvenated, hair and body scrubbed to glistening sanitation. Sakura climbed out of the massive sunken pool to find that her clothes had vanished, replaced instead with a large black shirt, folded neatly beside the door. She slipped it on; it fell to her knees. She smiled.

It smelled like sandalwood; like Sasuke.

The room outside the bathroom door was dark and extremely under furnished for the residence of royalty. A large black four-poster bed lay beside the French doors that led to the balcony. There were a few full bookshelves, a desk and a chair, and that was all. Sakura stood in the frame of the bathroom door; on the adjacent wall was the door that led outside.

The receiving room had been lit, the crystal chandelier on the ceiling glittering with the light of the candles situated at its peaks. The ceiling of Sasuke's receiving room was high and vaulted, the floor carpeted with white, and holding two long black curving couches and a glass table. There were no pictures on the walls. _Nothing._ Across from the couches that stood in front of the bedroom door, a sliding door led to the foyer.

Sakura tentatively situated herself on one of the couches, pulling her knees up to her chin, rubbing an eye tiredly. She didn't really expect to come out and find that Sasuke had vanished again. For one, she had not seen him since three weeks ago. And second, she didn't know where his room was…meaning she had no idea how to get back to her own.

_Tenten and Ino must be freaking out right now,_ she thought, absentmindedly twirling a lock of pink hair around her finger. _I hope they're not too worried._

She sighed, stretched, and slid down into a lying position on the couch. She lay there for a few moments, before flopping over on her stomach, pouting. A black piece of something caught her eye, peeking out from beneath the furniture.

She reached a finger down and picked at it in boredom. It slid out little by little and, with a furrowed brow, she picked her head up off of the couch and reached down, tugging on it. A photograph came loose.

_Great,_ she thought as she straightened into a sitting position, _why am I always finding other people's photos?_

Sakura's heart stopped when she flipped it over.

Little Itachi sat on a bench swing beneath a cherry blossom tree, wrought with iron and gold-leaf. He wore a big smile on his face, his hair blowing loose around his shoulders, a bit of dirt showing on his knee from under the hem of his gray shorts. In his arms, he held a baby with black fuzz on the crown of his head, wrapped in a blue blanket with the Uchiha fan embroidered on it, one little arm stretched out, the tiny hand holding firmly a lock of his brother's hair. Beside Itachi sat a tiny little girl, no more than four years old, with big brown-black eyes and curled coal black hair tied in two pigtails. She wore a pale green dress with more flounces than a wedding cake, her head turned away from the camera, one pale white hand placed on her little brother's blanket, her eyes wide in amazement.

_Uchiha Sakura_.

The main door clicked and Sakura jumped, bending down and shoving the photo back under the couch. Her eyes widened when she saw the floor underneath carpeted with photos of the three, sometimes only two, captured in moments of play and frolicking, some family portraits with their little faces solemn.

"What are you doing?"

Her head snapped up so quickly she banged it,_ hard_, against the tabletop.

"_OW!"_

Sakura raised her body up a slower, rubbing her throbbing head as Sasuke rushed over, a tray in his hands.

"Sakura?"

"No, I'm okay," she winced, "I've got to have the hardest head in the world, there's no bump or anything."

"Hn," he grinned, before offering her the tray. On it was a large steaming bowl of miso ramen, a slice of strawberry Bundt cake and a cup of milk.

She looked at him. He shrugged, turning away. "She said you were training for ten hours."

Sakura grinned happily and dug in. Sasuke watched the petite girl decimate her food with vague amusement, leaning against the back of the couch. When she finally surfaced from her bowl, gulping down the milk, she settled with a sigh next to him, cradling the delicious dessert in her hands.

_We wait for the bus that's going to nowhere_

_In my plaid dress and burgundy shoes_

_In your red lipstick and lilac kerchief, you're the most pretty lady in the room, sun._

Sasuke looked up from where he was perched, grinding the edges of his kunai against a whetstone.

_The bus driver smiles, a dime and a nickel_

_We climb on our seats, the vinyl is cold_

_Michelle ma Belle, the song that you loved then, you hold my hand and sing to yourself_

_Sun, sun_

_Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun…_

"Where did you hear that?" He cut in, in an uncharacteristically soft voice. She looked up from ripping a piece off of her Bundt cake.

"Oh, from Ino, a while ago," she replied simply, popping the piece into her mouth. "Why, do you like it?"

"No," Sasuke said quickly. "I mean, yes. I mean…well, I just thought that maybe…" he paused as he realized he was fumbling. "Never mind."

"What?" Sakura abandoned the cake and nudged herself closer, getting on her knees and leaning to stare at his face. A mumbly fumbly Uchiha Sasuke definitely called for further inquiry. "Come on, Sasuke," she said softly. "You can tell me."

He sighed, contemplated, and relented.

"It was my mother's favorite song--is," he muttered finally. "I thought maybe--maybe you'd heard _her_ singing it."

"I don't get it," she said candidly, plopping down the ground in front of him. "Why were you so shocked, then?"

"She--" he frowned, uncomfortable. "She hasn't done that in a very long time. Since…"

He trailed off, and Sakura decided to go for it and hypothesize.

"Since…Sakura-san died?"

Sasuke's head whipped up. "Who told you that?" he snapped.

"Naruto," the pink-haired girl replied, unfazed, "The first night I got here."

His face was angry, then confused, then angry again, before settling into indifference. "Well, I guess I should have known."

"Come on, Sasuke, tell me," she prodded, both vocally and literally. When he refused to continue, she took a deep breath, huffed and poked him square in the chest.

"Listen mister, we are getting married _extremely_ soon and you are being ridiculous, how am I supposed to marry a guy I don't even know anything about? So Uchiha Sasuke you better spill whatever sob story you're holding in right now or I swear I will make that wedding mother twelve hours long!"

The prince stared at her in amazement.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

"I'm _informing_ you." She retorted smugly.

Sasuke stared at her for a few moments longer, and she stared right back, resolute. Finally, he leant back into the couch and surrendered to this freaking _annoying_ pink haired kid, convinced of her ability to prolong his mental suffering as long as she deemed necessary – meaning, until she got what she wanted.

"My mother is a good person," he began, a tone of insistence in his voice. She grinned and levered herself back onto the couch.

"My mother is a good parent," Sasuke continued once she had settled comfortably, "She is a good queen, and a good mother. It's just, she's been unusually…distant, since…The Incident."

Sakura swore she could _hear_ the capitalization.

"Before…she died, my mother was…closer." He forced this out a little awkwardly. Sakura blinked. At this rate, he wouldn't finish until they were fifty. _Wait a minute--_

"Sasuke…have you…never told this story before?" she questioned curiously, cocking her head. He glared at her. "_No._"

"Sorry! Okay, go on…please."

Sasuke frowned, but continued.

"Mother…she would play with us. She would cook and eat dinner with us, read books to us, buy toys for us, take us out, tuck us in, all that. You know? She was an extremely caring parent. She still is," Sasuke added hurriedly, "She just…stopped doing that. Even though me and Itachi…we were still so young when it happened. We lost a sister, she lost a daughter…but it was like she didn't care. I don't know…I guess we felt like…"

"You needed your mother then?" Sakura offered softly.

"Yes," he looked at her curiously. "Yes. But she withdrew almost, kind of into herself. Since then, she does not appear outside of court functions. She does not talk to us, or see us, or anything. The only time I ever see my mother now is at balls and dinners, and other things she must attend mandatorily. It's unnerving." He swallowed uncomfortably. "I don't even remember her face clearly anymore."

"Sasuke," she placed a hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry."

He blinked twice, stared at her for a few seconds, before straightening and coughing. Sakura paused. _He's completely uncomfortable with the situation, _she realized, _he's not used to it…he doesn't do this heart-to-heart stuff. But…_her brow furrowed as she mentally conversed with herself._ He's still actually trying to talk to me about his life? About…Sakura? Just because I asked? _She gave a little whooping cheer inside. _Oh my God! Does he…does he _trust_ me?!_

"Anyways," Sasuke cleared his throat uneasily, cutting into her mental reverie, standing up and turning away. "I guess I thought…when I heard you sing that, I thought maybe my mother came back to herself again."

She raised herself up, and they stood in silence.

"I'll sing it for you anytime you like," she whispered finally, her face inches from his back, a tiny smile on her lips.

"Hn," he replied, and turned back to face her.

Sakura grinned up at him, and his lip twitched a little.

Suddenly, as if snapping out of something, he marched past her, picked up her abandoned cake, placed it in her hands and ushered her to the door. Her dirty clothes had been laundered, placed in a neat folded pile, and Sasuke picked this up as well, loading it into her arms. She slipped her shoes on hurriedly, as her fiancé all but pushed her out the door.

"It's late," Sasuke said in a bland monotone, back to his strange, distant self. "You should be getting back."

"Sasuke--"

He cut her off harshly. "Your sisters will be worried."

He had no idea how much.

**.-.-.-.-.**

"Sasuke-san?"

Said dark-haired prince blinked at the figure in front of his door.

"Tenten-san," he replied, slowly. "I see we are back to the formalities. Is this about--?"

_Two Yamanakas in a row? What was this, Attack of the Prodding Sisters Day?_ He turned and looked down the hallway where the pink-haired one just vanished. The brunette must have come from the opposite direction, he reasoned.

"I, uh--" the brunette fumbled uncomfortably. "Can we--?"

He said nothing, stepping back to let her in.

"Do you have information for me?" he questioned cautiously as she seated herself on Sakura's recently vacated spot. Tenten licked her dry lips, shifting uncomfortably.

"No, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke froze, and turned to the older girl.

"Do you understand what this means?"

"Yes, Sasuke-san," she whispered shakily. He reached her in two strides, grabbing her chin and yanking it upwards. She winced.

"_Why?_" he sneered angrily. The brunette forced her glistening hazel eyes to meet his own cold ones, but her lips did not part. "I _know_ you went to see Itachi. _So why_?"

"I can't say," she replied weakly, her throat dry.

He shoved her face away with an angry growl. Tenten remained in her place as he paced around the room in barely controlled fury, reaching out and breaking whatever ornament he came within a foot of, reminiscent of her own reaction when Ino disappeared. Finally, Sasuke stepped to a corner of the room, and rang a bell.

"You called, sir?"

A tiny blonde girl appeared, in a maid's pink kimono.

"Yes," Sasuke snapped, his eyes fixed on the shaking form of Yamanaka Tenten. "Bring me Hyuuga Neji."

He turned back to her as the servant girl mumbled a quiet, "Yes, sir," and vanished. Sasuke plopped down on the opposite couch, his eyes never leaving her trembling frame.

"I hope you are comfortable, Tenten-san," he said flippantly, an edge of iciness in his voice. "We are going to be having a nice, long conversation. You are in for a long night."

**.-.-.-.-.**

_Okay, so…I'm okay. :D I guess it was just stomach flu, because I am totally alright right now. So here's the chapter I promised…it's not very good, because it's an info chapter, so I hope you forgive me._

_Title of the chapter refers to end section. I really like Panic at the Disco._

_Thanks to everyone for their concern and sympathy…I didn't even know people reviewed Author's Notes XD. Thanks a lot, it made me feel very loved._

_Thanks for your votes, everyone. Every review was counted, from the posting of Chapter 10 until 7/27/08._

_Until next time. And review, please!_


	12. Not So High Fidelity

.-.-.-.-.

**NOT-SO-HIGH FIDELITY (HYPNOTISM AND MORE PRETTY DRESSES)**

.-.-.-.-.

"She's not back yet," Ino paced around the room at dizzying speeds. "We sent Kiba, what, _three hours ago_, and she's _still_ not back yet. How could this _possibly_ take _all night_?!"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura muttered, her head buried in her arms. "It's _still_ night. You have a weird habit of dragging me out of bed at the most _insane_ hours of the morning."

Ino snorted and glared at her. Just then, the main door swung open, and the blonde was suddenly gone, having darted to the main room at the speed of light. There were murmurs, low voices, before the trio appeared in the doorway. Sakura stood up immediately.

Tenten was being supported by Ino and Kiba; her face was a mess of dry tears and melted mascara. Her lithe frame was shaking uncontrollably, and it was all Kiba could do to keep her moving.

"Oh my God, Tenten, what happened?" Sakura darted towards her cousin, taking hold of the arm Kiba was supporting. Kiba shrugged her off to Sakura, and left in search of a wet towel.

"It's--um--" Tenten fumbled, trying to straighten herself. "You can let go, Ino, it's okay, I'm fine."

"You are _so_ not fine," the blonde seethed, "What did he do?"

"He called Neji," her sister sighed as she lowered herself onto a couch. "And he told him, and…it was bad. It was really, _really_ bad. Neji went completely off the charts…"

"_What_?" now it was Sakura's turn to be shocked. She didn't think Sasuke would really _tell_ the uptight Hyuuga. "He _what_?"

"No, Sakura," Tenten's voice was suddenly stern and commanding, all unsure wobbliness gone. "Don't say _anything_ to him about it."

The pink-haired girl was livid as she stared at her cousin in shock. "What? Why?"

Kiba returned from the bathroom with a wet washcloth. Tenten plucked it from his hands and wiped her face clean of all residues indicating her breakdown, before turning back to Sakura.

"It's not his fault. I did not hold up my end of the bargain, and I knew what the consequences were."

"But--" Sakura turned to Ino, looking for backup. "But, it wasn't a _fair_ bargain in the first place! Tenten, you went to Itachi's, what happened?!"

"It's none of your business, Sakura," the brunette said firmly. "It was a deal, and a deal is a deal. Seriously, Sakura, what did you expect him to do when I return empty-handed? He's Uchiha Sasuke. He's got an image to uphold."

"This is about his _image_?!" Sakura roared. Tenten sighed.

"Sakura. Sit down. Look at me."

The younger girl obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Tenten grasped both her hands and stared her straight in the eye.

"This is not your problem. This is _my fault._ Let it go."

"But--"

"Sakura."

She bit her lip.

"_Let it go_."

"It's her choice, Sakura," Ino said softly. "Tenten doesn't want you to do anything. Don't disrespect that."

Sakura turned back to Tenten, who was still insistently staring at her as if trying to mentally will her cousin into obedience. Finally, Sakura let out an unhappy sigh.

"Alright."

Tenten smiled frailly, and patted her cousin on the crown of her head.

"Good girl," she told her happily. "Go back to bed, why are you even up? It's so early."

Sakura frowned. "Ino threw water on me."

"Go back to bed, okay?" Tenten grinned, "You don't have to be up yet, besides, we have so much to do today."

Sakura cocked her head. "What?"

"Well, you're getting married in a few weeks, Sakura," Ino jumped in, pulling Sakura up and pushing her out and into her room, "We have to go over the finer details and sign off on everything."

The pink haired girl pouted childishly as she was shoved into her own bed.

"What if I don't want to get married to him anymore?" she whined.

Ino grinned, heading for the light switch and flipping it off.

"Well, princess, it's too late now!"

And the blonde slammed the door in her face. Sakura sighed, pressing her now fully-awake eyes shut.

_Great. Just great._

.-.-.-.-.

"Oh," Ino spluttered, spitting out whatever was in her mouth, "Oh, that's _disgusting._ No more broccoli. Get it away from me."

She swatted the server, who darted away in fright the second her hand moved. Tenten snorted two feet away, before sampling a salmon roe caviar éclair.

"Okay, see, now _this_ is what I'm talking about," the brunette declared to the caterer, passing another éclair to her sister, who nodded in appreciation. "I _knew_ you could make decent seafood appetizers. Bring me more samples, now. Tell your chef to work these, we need more of this kind of stuff. And don't you dare serve tuna here _again_ or I swear I will kick your ass into next Tuesday."

"Really?" Sakura leaned over from the chocolate covered cream puffs as the petrified man ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"No," Tenten admitted slowly, waving over a woman with raspberries on a mint lemon sorbet cradled in a waffle cup, "But don't tell them that, we'll never get the tasting done. Besides, tuna is like a symbol against _everything_ we stand for. Mmm," she nodded vigorously, waving said woman towards Sakura and Ino, "try that, it's delicious. Bring me the salmon, I want to see how you're going with the hundred pounds we sent."

The woman bowed immediately and dashed away. Sakura frowned.

"A hundred pounds of salmon? A _hundred_? _Salmon_?"

"Yeah," Ino nodded, poking at a green gelatin appetizer topped with saffron, "Salmon. You know. Baked, smoked, raw, rolled, sushi, the works."

"What if I don't _want_ salmon?" Sakura retorted lightly, popping a strawberry cheesecake delicacy into her mouth.

Both Yamanakas froze.

"Oh, you _want_ salmon."

Sakura frowned. "It's my wedding, and I don't want salmon."

Tenten threw a bowl at her head. Sakura ducked just in time.

"You want salmon," she said threateningly. "Every Yamanaka in the history of Mizu has had salmon at her wedding and by the will of _God_ _you_ _will have_ _salmon and you will like it_." The brunette finished her exposition with a glare and a baring of the teeth. Sakura recoiled a little, nodding furiously.

"Okay. I want salmon. I love salmon. Salmon. Yay."

"Excuse me," Tenten said in a soft, bubbly voice. Ino and Sakura blinked.

"Wait, how did you say that without moving your mouth?"

"It wasn't me," Tenten retorted, before turning to look behind her own back. "Kiama, how are you doing today?"

The doppelganger smiled sweetly, clad in the same crimson silk tunic and black leggings as Tenten. "Oh, just lovely, Yamanaka-san, it's such a beautiful day. Excuse me, but I was sent to retrieve you. Itachi-san called for you, if you don't mind…?"

She straightened and waved a careless arm around, where every caterer under the giant white marquis tent was now staring at the two in fright and awe.

"Oh, sure," Tenten stood up smoothly, twisting a stay lock of hair into her bun as she did so. "Ino, use your palate wisely. Don't scrap a _single_ ounce of salmon or I'll skin you alive, got it?"

"Consider it done," Ino nodded surely, and, satisfied, Tenten linked arms with her twin and marched away.

They did not go inside as Tenten had expected, but instead wove around to another garden; the oriental one. There were massive lily ponds filled with koi, linked by tiny half-foot waterfalls, as well as stone bridges and walkways arching over and crawling mazelike across the emerald surfaces of the small lake, with several stone verandas at intersections.

"I'm afraid I haven't been here in a while," Tenten admitted as Kiama led them through the labyrinth of stone walkways with ease. "Since I was ten, actually."

"That's quite alright," the other brunette chirped cheerfully, "I do know my way, Yamanaka-san, you mustn't belittle me."

"Of course," Tenten demurred. They arrived promptly at the large stone veranda at the center of the entire garden, lined with stone seats around the perimeter, but with a comfortable sitting area in the middle of the floor: two curving stone benches with silver upholstery and a nice round marble table. Sitting immediately within viewing parameter was Itachi, across from him, a tall, black-haired man whose back was conveniently turned; the two were apparently engaged in some sort of board game.

Naturally, Tenten was cautious.

"Kiama," she pulled them to a sudden stop several feet away from the veranda, "Who is that?"

"Oh, it's just Orochimaru-sama, Yamanaka-san, there's nothing to be frittery about!"

Tenten's eyes widened. "_What_--you know, actually, I've just remembered something I have to do, can you ask Itachi is we can do this another time?"

"Oh, nonsense, Yamanaka-san," Kiama giggled, "We've come so far, a few moments won't hurt, would it?"

_Oh, if only she knew,_ Tenten thought with a wince as Itachi's red eyes met hers. Noticing the movement, Orochimaru's head turned, and his snake-like face curved up into a grin. Standing up, he strode towards Tenten, who was petrified beyond belief. Grasping one of her hands in his freakishly cold ones, he bowed, his eyes never leaving her face, and kissed it.

"Yamanaka Tenten, now, is it?" he purred in his raspy voice, "What _lovely_ skin. Such a _pleasure_, dear."

Tenten shivered as Kiama waved and disappeared.

"Come," the older man insisted, pulling at her arm with surprising strength, "Come sit with us. Itachi, now, why didn't you tell me such a pretty thing was joining us today?" he was addressing Itachi, but his reptilian yellow eyes did not leave Tenten for a second. "I would have prepared a little _present_."

"No need to frighten her, Orochimaru," Itachi replied monotonously, eyes fixated on the king he had just taken from Orochimaru, "It's merely business. Take a seat, please."

Tenten swallowed and obeyed, cursing herself mentally for leaving safety behind. "You called for me, Itachi-san?" she stated, her voice wavering a bit. Itachi looked up.

"You shouldn't be nervous, Tenten-san, he won't bite."

If she didn't know better she could swear he was amused.

"Now, I'm a little curious. There's something I just can't quite wrap my mind around." Itachi's eyes were now back onto the black king, cracking and crumbling in his seemingly light hold. "If my memory serves me, I gave you what you wanted, did I not?"

"Yes," the brunette replied simply.

"Therefore, I wonder," he continued as Orochimaru pretended to be observing the greenery, "What could possibly have happened that Sasuke is furious, the Hyuuga is on a warpath and you are feigning your enjoyment of whatever petty little activity you were going on about?"

Tenten frowned.

"If by that, you mean, why did I not tell him, I believe you know the answer yourself, Itachi-san."

"Ah," his black eyes met hers, "Did I speak just a little too much?"

She didn't say anything. Itachi observed her for another moment, before he stood up, grasped her arm in a gentle but firm grip, and lifted her from her seat.

"Curse my mother for the day she said I should express my opinions more often, then."

Orochimaru's lip twitched and he grinned, his yellow eyes thoroughly amused.

"I have never _once_ heard your opinion, Itachi-kun," the snake man mused in his oily voice. "Are you perhaps _slipping_?"

"You have nothing to fear, Orochimaru. This does not concern you." A sharp glance from Itachi had the ruler of Oto turn back to the greenery, but with no small amount of mocking slyness.

"I understand, Tenten-san," Itachi whispered in her ear, his eyes suddenly red. "Thank you. But I warn you…there may be more misfortune caused by your silence than if you speak openly to my dear little brother about the _Mangekyou_."

He paused.

"You may go now."

Tenten didn't need to be told twice. With a polite curtsey towards both men, she turned and sashayed rapidly back towards the wedding party. Orochimaru's slimy voice slithered through the air towards her, saying something curious:

"My, my, you're speeding along, aren't you, Itachi-kun? Are we getting a little desperate, working with those pretty eyes of yours?"

Before Tenten could turn back towards the veranda and inquire, Kiama appeared, accosting her immediately. The girl was incessantly chipper, and guided her with an unending flow of cheerful chatter back to the main gardens. The brunette blinked when she found herself back under the marquis, with Kiama long gone.

"Hey," Ino popped up, a crème bisque in her hand. "What happened?"

Tenten furrowed her brow. "I…don't remember…" she frowned. "I have to tell Sasuke. About the Mangekyou."

"What?!" the blonde screeched, before lowering her voice. "_What?_ I thought you said…if you told Sasuke, he'd _kill Sakura_."

"I don't know," Tenten put a hand to her head, "Where's Sakura?"

"Inside, for her fitting."

"I have to tell him," the brunette walked swiftly to a table and sat down. "Um…something…bad. It's worse if I don't tell him…something bad will happen to Sakura."

"What? What's something?"

"I don't know," Tenten muttered, frowning. "I…I can't remember. I just know…I have to tell Sasuke. Or Sakura…something bad will happen to Sakura."

"Something worse than _death_?"

"I don't know," Tenten snapped, before developing a regretful expression at yelling at her sister. "I'm not sure. Maybe. I don't know."

"At least tell him _after_ the wedding, Ten. Okay? Was there a time limit to this impeding Armageddon?"

"No…" Tenten massaged her temples. "I don't think so. After the wedding. Okay. Yeah."

"What happened with Itachi?" Ino sat down beside her sister, bending down and putting her hand to the brunette's forehead, checking her temperature.

Tenten shook her head.

"I don't know. It's cloudy. I…I can't _remember_."

.-.-.-.-.

On the day of Yamanaka (Haruno) Sakura's wedding, the most difficult process of the entire preparation period was physically getting the bride out of her bed.

"Girls _dream_ about their wedding days, Sakura, I doubt anybody else has trouble getting the girl out of bed," Ino gritted as she tried to forcibly pull her cousin from the covers.

"Well, they don't hate their fiancés," Sakura's grip was stronger than Ino had estimated. The blonde sighed, dropped Sakura's legs and crossed her arms, towering over the pink-haired princess angrily.

"Come on, Sakura, get _up_."

"I don't want to," the pink-haired girl pouted. "He's a bastard, I won't marry him."

"I'm sorry, would you like cheese with that whine?"

The green-eyed girl glared at her blonde cousin.

Ino sighed. "Sakura, you are marrying Uchiha Sasuke today and that is final. Now get up off your ass or you are going to spend your entire wedding unconscious. I mean it. I'll do it."

Sakura glared up at her cousin.

"What about Gaara?"

"He'll never know," the blonde waved it off, grabbing Sakura's shoulders and prying her away from her pillow. "Come on. Up. Or the wrath of Tenten."

At this, Sakura winced. "Fine. Okay. But I won't like it."

"Nobody said you had to," Ino replied with a triumphant grin as Sakura leapt from her bed to the bathroom door. "Just take a bath. Hair and makeup will be here in ten minutes, hurry up!"

With that, Ino bounced out of the room she shared with her cousin. Tenten look up as her sister entered the reception room.

"Is she up?"

"Yeah," Ino wrinkled her nose, "She really doesn't want to marry Sasuke, though."

Tenten sighed. "It's been _weeks_ since the Neji thing. It's cool. We're cool. Tell her it's _fine_."

"I did," Ino huffed, plopping down and stealing her sister's orange juice, "A lot. But she's still pissed at Sasuke for creating the situation in the first place, even if Neji decided he was going to marry you anyways."

"He's not happy about it," Tenten grumbled, setting her head down on the table. "I'm not happy about it. Now it's _definitely_ political. He's just marrying me as a one-way ticket to the throne of Haku. He's marrying me because we're the only country that trades in coral. That's it."

"There, there." Ino patted the brunette's head patronizingly. "Love takes time to grow, especially when your husband thinks you're a whore." Tenten scowled. "You'll get there," the blonde assured her pleasantly.

"Are you patronizing me?"

"I am not patronizing you."

"You are _so_ patronizing me."

Ino grinned. "Whatever. Get over it, Sniffly McSnifflekins."

Tenten scowled as Sakura exited her bedroom, pink hair dripping, green eyes glaring.

"I'm awake," she snapped grumpily. "Let's get this over with before I change my mind."

Ino clapped her hands happily. "It's so great that you're _both_ getting married. I get both your furisodes. Well, until _I_ get married."

Sakura stared at her cousin with a pissed off expression. "_What_?!"

"Only single women can wear furisodes. You know, the pretty kimono with long sleeves and bright colors," Tenten explained hurriedly, ushering the pink-haired girl out towards the main room, where hairstylists and makeup artists were waiting to work on the Yamanaka girls. "So until Gaara pop the question, she gets them _all_."

"Bitch," Sakura spat. Ino just glowed.

From seven until noon, women bustled around, perfecting the bride's wedding look, weeping over Sakura's pretty eyes, crooning over Ino's perfect skin, fainting over Tenten's glorious hair. Takuda stood demurely in a corner, seemingly not a part of any of it but secretly dictating everything that happened. When Sakura's pink hair had been plaited and curled and smoothed and woven and twisted into gorgeous knot of braids and curls on the top of her head, interwoven with pearls and diamond hair brooches, Takuda was the one who lifted her easily from her chair and plopped her down on a stand a few feet away.

"Go," the gray-eyed woman ordered. Immediately, a horde of women appeared and began wrapping her.

The first thing on her body was a London Bridge brassiere, made of cotton and satin edging. It pushed up her breasts, restrained her stomach and abdomen and altogether made her figure better. However, the silk and lace corset was a contraption not to be messing with.

"Jeez--" Sakura muttered as the white silk whalebone corset was laced around her body, "Ah! Jeez, take it easy, sister."

The girl in charge of pulling the silk corset strings gave her a withering glare before pulling even harder, finishing the corset off with a bow. White silk stockings were forced onto her feet, clipped by a white lace garter belt to her silk-and-lace white panties. Over this ensemble was a white petticoat edged with three inches of lace flounce, then a thin white eyelet lace petticoat, and an underskirt made entirely of crocheted silk lace.

"Hold on," Sakura turned to Tenten as they buttoned up the back of the underskirt, "Tenten, is this a _Western_ style wedding?"

"Yes," the brunette said simply as they wove the yards of her hair.

"Why?"

"Because I'm doing _mine_ the traditional way in two months and no way am I going to use my valuable plans on _you_. Besides, the dress is pretty."

It was pretty.

The white chiffon gown was off-the-shoulders, lined with white lace-and-satin roses, the bodice patterned with in sewn diamonds and seed pearls in patterns of curlicues and roses. The skirt of the gown was simply off-white chiffon, with a split down the middle that showed the lace underskirt underneath. The back of the dress was a false corset, with silk ribbon crisscrossing the bodice from the low back to the end of the train, the fabric underneath imbued with pearly patterns. The train was around five feet long, and the veil was just as, with a short front section, and a long trailing section. It was secured by a silver tiara with diamonds shaped like roses on the edge.

"Wow," Ino whistled as she helped six women squeeze Sakura into the dress, her blonde updo bouncing with the weight of her curls, "I want it. Ten, get me one."

"You can't have it," the pink haired girl had grown fond of the Western wedding idea the second she had seen the dress. "It's mine. Stay away."

"Get your own," the brunette snapped, as her hair was piled the same way as Ino's. Both updos were secured with miniature versions of Sakura's own tiara.

"Where's Lady Hinata?" Takuda demanded, looking around the room. "Where is the third bridesmaid?"

"Her own people are attending to her," Ino assured the rampaging woman, "It'll be the same, don't worry."

Takuda looked like she was going to have an aneurysm and promptly calmed herself by tweaking Sakura's dress to perfection.

"To makeup," she clapped her hands, "Go, princess, go. Tenten-sama, Ino-sama, please come to be dressed. Hurry."

The bridesmaids' dresses were an icy blue that was almost white, their bodices the same as Sakura's, but the skirts simply lace with a satin overlay and without the massive train. The dresses were sleeveless, unlike Sakura's, which had the satin roses draped around her shoulders. Tenten and Ino had full, curvaceous, slim figures, which made their corsets thoroughly unnecessary, and made Sakura curse them both onto eternity.

Their makeup was light, accenting their cheekbones and their eyes, and the entire compound had been cleaned and tidied when Hinata arrived, her hair and makeup copied to perfection (which was basically Takuda's impeccable standards). She fit into her custom-tailored dress no problem, and the bride's wedding party was ushered at around one in the afternoon down to the preparation rooms of the massive crystal ballroom where the wedding was to be held.

"It's _gorgeous,_" Tenten assured Sakura, rushing back in after a quick sweep of the room, "White cushioned benches, blue and violet irises everywhere, the chandelier…it's all absolutely _gorgeous_. The red carpet, though…it's very long."

"I'll make it," a very pale Sakura said, sitting on a settee.

"Have you seen the shoes?" Ino grinned, her strawberry painted lips glittering.

"No," Sakura admitted. Hinata blushed, before holding up a pair of four-inch open-toed pumps.

Made of crystal.

"Oh _God_," Sakura moaned, tempted to just run the hell out of there. "Oh, my _God_."

.-.-.-.-.

"Here," Ino shoved a bouquet of white lilies and baby's breath into Sakura's hands an hour later, a smaller one in her own hands. "Okay, just remember. Father's outside, waiting for you--"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura looked up from her massive bouquet, "_Uncle_?"

"Yeah, the father of the bride is supposed to walk her down to the groom," Ino explained, examining her nails. They, like the other girls, were painted pearly white, with a clear glaze. "Anyways, he escorts you down to the podium, then hands you to Sasuke, you two go up the steps, say I do, kiss, and walk down again. And then we have the reception, which is basically food and dancing. Got it?"

"Fine," Sakura snapped. "How long do I have?"

"Um, thirty seconds as of now. Bye!"

And thus, Ino darted out of the room before Sakura could slap her silly. The pink-haired girl heaved a massive sigh as PacBell's _Canon_ began playing on a guzheng. A few seconds later, King Inoichi popped in, looking thoroughly handsome in a white penguin tuxedo with a midnight blue shirt and white tie.

"Hey, Sakura," he grinned, holding out his hand. "It's nice to see you. How long has it been? You look beautiful."

"Thanks, uncle," she muttered with a slight smile. The blonde man grinned down at her.

"Call me father, when we're out there. Okay?"

"Do Ino and Tenten call you father?"

"No, they call me old man when they're angry, dad when they're happy and popsicle when they want something." Sakura grinned at her uncle's lighthearted banter. "Come on, princess, they're waiting."

Inoichi led Sakura out, stopping a few feet behind her line of bridesmaids. Tenten stood at the head as the Maid of Honor, back to the door to the ballroom bickering in undertones with Neji, Sasuke's second groomsman. Ino stood the same way, whispering to Gaara, third groomsman, who was escorting Hinata, and up at the front, beside Tenten, stood Naruto, head groomsman, a half-excited half-sick expression on his face. The men all wore black tuxes with white shirts and cerulean bow ties; the king of Mizu stood out massively. They all shut up and looked up when Sakura arrived.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved loudly, before Tenten clamped a hand over his mouth. "Hey, Sakura-chan," he repeated in a whisper, "You look pretty."

"People are going to wonder how Inoichi-san spawned a pink-haired child," Gaara remarked wryly. They all grinned as _Canon_ ended and the wedding march began.

"Okay," Tenten gave Sakura thumbs-up, "Here we go."

The groomsmen and bridesmaids parted ways, entering through side doors. Sakura took deep breaths, and Inoichi put a comforting hand on her arm.

"Calm down, Sakura," he grinned down at her. "It'll be over in minutes, you'll see."

Sakura sighed. "I hope you're right."

The double gold doors in front of them opened, and Sakura cursed her (pretty) crystal shoes as she measured the red carpet in between the bride's side and the groom's side. To her, it looked about a mile long. Everybody in the white velvet benches stood, and Inoichi had to tug at her arm a little to get her moving.

Sasuke stood at the end of the carpet, looking gorgeous, bored and a little nervous. Behind him, up the stairs and behind the wrought silver fencing, stood Naruto, Neji and Gaara, in that order. Opposite them stood Tenten, Ino and Hinata. In the front, on the groom's side, sat Fugaku and Mikoto, the latter in a navy silk dress with a black veil over her face. On the bride's side was the characteristic big hair of Yamanaka Amara, the queen of Mizu, her long, rich chestnut curls bouncing, wearing a crimson cocktail gown that stood out massively in the pale decor.

Behind her aunt was--Sakura's heart stopped--the fiery red hair of her mother, tears in her eyes, her pale face flushed pink in joy, smoothing down the front of her champagne-colored gown as she stood. Her father's silver locks, drawing close to almost white despite his young age, were visible behind her mother's piled up curls, though Sakura could only spot one dark green eye, because of the sheer height and width of Nadeshiko's hair. All three smiled at her in pride and joy, as Inoichi solemnly as they made their way towards the priest.

"I told your father," Inoichi whispered to her in an undertone, "That this moment should be his."

Sakura's eyes watered as they trailed to the proud, happy face of her father. "What did papa say?"

"He said seeing his little girl married to the prince of Honoo was enough. Make him proud, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl nodded subtly as Inoichi gave her hand to Sasuke. The prince's eyebrow raised at the veil over her face, but gave an approving look at the extremely expensive wedding gown and escorted her up to the pedestal, where a white-clad priest was waiting. Sasuke himself was breathtakingly handsome in his crisp black tuxedo, and while most of her mind was still resenting him, a part of it hoped she looked as good as he did. Sakura handed her bouquet to Tenten, before linking hands with Sasuke.

"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today…"

Sakura took deep breaths, eyes angling upwards at her fiancé. To her surprise, he was as equally enraptured by her and she was by him. _Score, Sakura_, she mused gleefully. _You look _better _than he does because you're a _girl.

She almost grinned.

"Do you, Uchiha Sasuke, take Yamanaka Sakura to be your wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Pause.

"I do," he said quietly.

"And do you, Yamanaka Sakura, take Uchiha Sasuke to be your wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

She seriously contemplated spitting _NO_ into his face, before deciding she would probably die for that and nodding, "Yes, I do."

"It is my honor to announce Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Sakura, under the eyes of God, bound in holy matrimony, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Tentatively, almost hesitantly, Sasuke reached up steady fingers and lifted the shorter veil from its position in front of her face. His breath caught as her emerald eyes met his, a bland, contemplative expression on his face. She stared up at him, before realizing his reluctance was probably due to the fact that he likely knew _exactly_ what she was thinking and _precisely_ how much she hated him at that moment. With a pause and a quick glance at the audience, Sakura gave him a tiny, subtle nod for her mother's sake, and slowly, his lips descended upon hers in a simple, chaste kiss.

The audience erupted into polite applause, until Ino and Naruto decided to hell with it, they were going for it, and cheered, whooped and whistled loudly, all whilst waving their arms and jumping up and down. Deciding it was too good an opportunity to pass, the rest of the wedding-goers erupted into hoots, howls and mad laughter, to the obvious mortification of Uchiha Mikoto.

"Sakura, sweetheart," Nadeshiko stood up, crying, as she snatched her daughter from Sasuke, "Mo--auntie is so proud of you. Give a kiss, darling?"

Sakura gave her a massive hug instead.

"Thank you for coming, mama," she whispered in her ear, "Thanks for letting me come." She moved to the side and hugged her father as well. "Thanks, papa."

The Harunos smiled and released their daughter, who was immediately borne away in a wave of girls and congratulations.

"Throw the bouquet!" the entire female audience demanded. Sakura blushed.

"Um, after the reception…"

"Screw it, Forehead Girl," Ino snarled, dragging a bemused Gaara behind her, "Come over here and throw it _now_."

Tenten smiled and handed the newlywed her bouquet, before accosting Neji and disappearing as their bickering restarted. With a false sigh, Sakura lifted the hem of her dress and, with a little support from her fiancé--_husband_, stood backwards on top of one of the benches. All the single women in the audience gathered behind her, reaching, jumping and shouting cheerfully.

"Okay," the pink-haired girl locked eyes with her mother and aunt, giving them a massive grin, "Here it comes!"

The bouquet sailed through the air. Hands reached, girls screamed…and then it landed.

Tenten stared at the flowers in her hands a little contemplatively, having been caught in the face with the mass mid-cuss. The Hyuuga beside her frowned before plucking the bouquet out of his fiancée's hands and glaring at it viciously.

"We've already settled this," he deadpanned, "We don't need your fateful insistence." He grabbed Tenten by the waist and made to storm off.

"Ino!"

The blonde looked up. A massive white bouquet flew into her face. Grappling with it, she looked around to see her sister waving and being dragged off.

"Gaara!" the brunette shouted, giving the redhead a thumbs-up sign, "Go for it!"

Gaara almost snorted as Tenten disappeared.

"Let's go."

Ino coughed, wondering whether or not to bring the flowers with them. "Um, okay."

.-.-.-.-.

"Hey," Sakura caught up with her cousins during the last fifteen minutes of the reception, when all the food had been swept away and slightly drunk nobility had loosened up and started giggling and dancing. "We're leaving soon," the bride told Tenten and Ino a little reluctantly, "See you in a few weeks, I guess."

"Where are you going?" Ino inquired, popping a strawberry into her mouth.

"Let's see," Sakura looked upwards as she counted off her fingers. "Cloud country for a week, then we're taking a cruise up to Mizu and taking a show train to Kusa, and if we have time we're going to follow a vaudeville circus before we circle back here." She paused. "Why?"

"In case we need to send you a missive," Tenten tapped her fingers on the table in blatantly boredom. "Just in case."

"We'll get your specific itinerary somewhere," Ino assured her. Sakura smiled wryly as Sasuke magically appeared at her side, followed immediately by his father's booming announcement that the bride and the groom would be leaving for their honeymoon, and would everybody please gather at the doors for a few moments.

"Let's go," the black-haired prince said slowly, casting a glance at Tenten. The brunette stared right back. Sakura sighed, and let herself be led away with one final backwards wave at her cousins. Tenten made to follow, but Ino held her back, waving away Neji and Gaara, instead pulling her out of the grand ballroom, through to the crystal ballroom, out of the entire wing and towards their quarters.

"I get the whole room to myself now," Ino chirped as she flew, "Awesome."

"Okay," Tenten replied smoothly, "You dragged me away, now what is this about?"

"We need to talk. About the whole Sasuke thing."

Tenten frowned.

"About what?"

"About when you're going to tell him. And how." The blonde frowned, reaching the door. "Something weird is going on with that kid and I don't want you to set off the bomb before it's supposed to go."

With that, the blonde shoved her sister inside, and locked the door.

.-.-.-.-.

_This probably won't be updated for a while, because...-blushes-...school started for me and, as a super AP nerd running up and down stairs all day on four-inch heels, I've gotta put a LOT of concentration into what I do there, and my school work. So...yeah._

_Has anyone seen my beta? Where did you go, Kerry? Where did you go?_

_Review, please!_


	13. Air

.-.-.-.-.

**NO HEAD, NO HEART, NO HURRY, NO HATE, NO FUN, NO MUSS, NO CITY, NO STATE,  
NO CARD, NO KID, NO CALL, NO KISS, NO BOOK, NO BREAD, NO HIT, NO MISS,  
NO TEARS, NO LAUGH, NO LOVE, NO SIN, NO HAND TO PUT MY HANDSHAKE IN,  
NO HEADER, NO FOOTER, NO GIRL, NO BOY, NO GOOD, NO BETTER, NO TOUCH, NO...TOY**

.-.-.-.-.

"Anything else you may need, Uchiha-sama, please don't hesitate to call," the pretty porter smiled at Sasuke. The prince shut the door of the massive mansion suite in her face. Sakura winced.

Cloud Country was nice. Sasuke wasn't. In fact, he looked downright murderous. The black-haired prince all but stormed into the next room where Sakura reclined on the couch, her bare legs slung casually over one of the armrests, her elegant wedding dress already rumpled. He sat down on the recliner beside said couch and closed an eye, the other trailing over her body almost analytically. And then Sakura realized that this was a honeymoon. The _first night _of a honeymoon. Like, right. After. A _wedding._

And she almost had a pulmonary embolism.

_That_, she did not want to do. Not with him, and definitely not right now.

"No," Sakura pushed herself up on her elbows and almost snarled at him. "Not after what you did to Tenten. _No_."

"There are certain things expected to occur this week," he told her apathetically. "And for your information, Neji says they're fine."

"No."

The prince glared at his new wife, and was a little surprised to see her glaring right back. After a few moments he scowled, before turning his head and closing his eyes. Sakura was almost relieved, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. The trip was long, and she was tired. But for some reason, she could not sleep, and she _definitely _did not want to sleep in her wedding dress and makeup, on the couch. Problem: the door to the bedroom was behind Sasuke. And Sasuke looked a little pissed.

Plus, she didn't really want to go anywhere near whatever heart-shaped bed the massive hotel had provided. Slowly, the silence became suffocating and Sakura could swear the awkwardness was eating her alive.

_Say something._

Silence. Sakura rolled her eyes and sat up.

_Well…I guess I should say something. Jeez, our marriage is going to be one heck of a hellhole._

"So...um...Sasuke…" she said lamely.

He looked at her, his gaze piercing. "Hn."

_Well that was interesting. Incoherent phrases. Great start, don't you agree?_

"Well...what do we do now?"

"Hn."

"Ok, sorry. Dumb question. Um…" She looked at him hopefully. There's got to be _one_ thing Sasuke could do that would initiate a conversation of some sort. Unfortunately, the prince seemed capable only of grunting:

"Hn."

"Okay...never mind.?"

"Hn."

"You know, I'm mad at you. I just don't seem like it because you are not being an evil son of a bitch at the moment."

"Hn."

"You really shouldn't have told Neji about Tenten."

"Hn."

"It was a horrible thing to do. You could have ruined their relationship. You could have started a war. You could have--Uchiha Sasuke, are you listening to me?!"

"Hn."

"Sasuke, I'm serious. This is serious."

"You're annoying."

Sakura blanched. "What--you--you_ stupid, moody, spoiled brat! _I bet you don't say anything because you're too dumb to come up with a coherent sentence!"

He was glaring now. Progress!

"You did it to make yourself feel better, didn't you? To belittle someone else and make them suffer, you liked that, didn't you? You--"

"Shut up, woman. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You bet your royal ass I do."

"You're annoying."

"Oh, real original," Sakura considered stopping before she got too big for her britches, but Sasuke's irritated growl was too much to resist.

"What, so now you're a _dog_, too?"

He stood up and advanced on her. Almost instinctively she leapt from the couch, backing away. _Probably won't do me much good, he's a foot and a half taller than I am…Oh crap, Sakura. Not good, not good, not good._

"Hey Sasuke…um…"

_To hell with this. What's he going to do, kill me? _She held her ground, staring at him defiantly. Suddenly, he reached forward, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the wall, their faces inches apart, his snarling, hers stubborn. Then, his face was gone from her view and her feet were on the ground, with something warm on her neck.

Sasuke's spiky black locks were tickling her nose as he...ack! He was nuzzling her neck! _Not good, not good, not good_. She tried to shove him off but he just growled at her forcefully and pinned her hands to the wall. She whimpered. His fingers were like fire and sent shivers through every fiber of her being. Her nerve endings were burning with it as he planted small firm kisses all the way along her collarbone. This was new. She hadn't known he could be gentle.

It didn't last very long. His hands now moved from where they held hers to wall, and began roughly pulling her dress off, layer by layer. At any other time Sakura would have protested but as Sasuke began to kiss first her neck, then traveling up to her mouth to kiss her more deeply than ever, she could only submerge to his will.

Their tongues met in a wild dance of passion. Sakura wound her arms around his neck, holding him there and pulling him in deep. Sasuke peeled off the last layer of her dress leaving her exposed and shivering slightly, ripples of goose bumps spreading across her skin, in only her underwear. His hands pushed her into him by the small of her back then slowly began to venture up and down her down curves.

Sakura reached down and began pulling off Sasuke's shirts. They fell on the floor at their feet beside the pile of ruffles and lace that had been Sakura's wedding gown. He reached for his own belt, quickly pulling it off along with his pants. He bent down tasting her neck as she shivered, still pressed to the cold wall.

But he only pushed her into it harder. She could feel his excitement pressed against her. Their bodies rubbed against each other, exchanging body heat as their kiss climaxed. Suddenly Sasuke pulled her in again, the kiss deep and longing. He wrenched her from the wall, throwing off her balance a bit and breaking the kiss.

"Sasuke…" He used the fact she was off balance to push her to the ground, though by some miracle she landed on a bed of ruffles that was her dress. Sasuke pushed them aside impatiently as he lowered himself onto her. He once again kissed her mouth then let his tongue travel down to her chest, which sent shivers of pleasure rippling through her body, then down to her stomach.

His hands traveled with his mouth, and then as he began giving her stomach small kisses downward they pulled off her underwear, then his own. Sakura stared at him for a moment before Sasuke pulled her up to kiss him again. Now panic began running through her mind. _Will it hurt? Will I bleed? I-AH!_ But her thoughts were interrupted as Sasuke slid himself in slowly. At first not all the way, but then with a hard, quick thrust that sent a sharp pain all through Sakura's body he slid all the way in.

Sasuke began going in and out methodically, grasping Sakura's hips and pulling her into him more and more, his thrusts getting more and more aggressive. Sakura gasped and moaned, her hands running through Sasuke's hair, over his chest. She couldn't get enough. One moment of pain and now she couldn't get enough. She pulled him close wishing for him to go deeper, to fill her completely. She never wanted him to stop.

Then with one particularly deep thrust Sakura was sent screaming and moaning louder than ever. Her hands twisted in her own hair then flew to her sides, trying to clench onto anything as waves pleasure washed over her.

Sasuke continued for a few more thrusts and then followed Sakura into that sea of shaking pleasure. Panting he pulled himself out and lay next to his new wife. He wrapped his arms around and held her close, feeling her bare soft skin against his own. He put his mouth to her neck and kissed it softly.

"That was…unexpected," Sakura lifted a white arm and lay it across her forehead, peeking one green eye at her husband.

The prince snorted, before relocating his discarded shirt and pulling it on rather haphazardly. Gently, he pulled Sakura up from the floor and carried her in the ruined dress trailing on the floor behind her.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm assuming the floor would be an extremely uncomfortable place to sleep."

"Oh. Right."

He set her down on the, as Sakura had correctly hypothesized, heart-shaped bed, lined with lilies. Absentmindedly she brushed the big white flowers off of the coverlet before relentlessly burying her small body into the warm down blankets. Sasuke vanished, before reappearing from the bathroom door with a cool towel and a brush with which he wiped her face gently clean of sweat and makeup and wrestled with the knots in her hair. Sakura giggled into his stomach, wondering if the cold prince of Honoo had ever before cared to ensure someone else's comfort before.

Sakura drifted in and out of light sleep for a while, and dimly recognized the sound of the shower and Sasuke emerging once again from the marble bathroom in a halo of light and steam. Then there was a pressure next to her and she guessed she could sleep now.

Before her eyes finally drooped shut, Sakura managed a coherent phrase.

"You really shouldn't have done it…"

Sasuke didn't move. "Which one?"

When she didn't answer, he look over and found that she was already asleep, her lashes casting shadows on her thin cheekbones. Without another word Sasuke turned off the lights with a flick of his hand and sunk down beside her.

.-.-.-.-.

Sakura had woken the next morning the teeniest bit sore, and didn't think much about it. After grumbling a bit about her own personal hygiene, she proceeded to desert the bed and march towards the bathroom. A bath had already been drawn, with lavender bubbles and rose petals, and Sakura didn't give a thought to Sasuke's absence when she dove in.

When her hair was squeaky clean and her skin smelt like a greenhouse, Sakura reluctantly pulled a soft fluffy towel from the chrome-and-glass rack beside the giant pool of a tub and wrapped herself up quite comfortably. The towel smelled like honey. _I guess everything in this country is scented._

After toweling her hair and blow-drying it to poofy, curly perfection, Sakura exited the sliding glass doors of the bathroom and wandered cautiously into a second door, across from the suddenly made bed. To her relief it was what she thought it was--a walk-in closet--and the curiosity of the organization of her clothes which had just recently been in her massive entourage of valises dawned on her. With a shrug, she found a light blue sundress. It was very simple, with a boatneck lined with white silk ruffles and clusters of smooth white tulle under the full ballerina skirt. Donning it, she pulled up her big hair into a ponytail with a white ribbon and walked out of the bedroom, venturing back into the main living room, bumping into Sasuke along the way.

"Oh, hi."

Sasuke cocked his hip and stared down at her, thoroughly unimpressed. Sakura ignored his glance.

"Where were you?"

"I had business to attend to," Sasuke replied. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

A piece of stylized paper and a fountain floated from somewhere beyond the living room door and landed in Sasuke's hand. He scribbled something on it, shrunk it, and it poofed out of existence. The prince turned and walked away from the couches and the flat-screen a door, and Sakura followed. He led them to an airy library-like room, with one wall facing outside made entirely out of glass. Sasuke slid the glass door open and walked out onto a white dining patio.

"What business?" Sakura questioned when she was seated, careful not to crush the tulle holding up the skirt of her dress. Sasuke shrugged.

"Neji sent another missive."

"About what?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and handed her a small piece of paper from the breast pocket of his black, silver-pinstriped shirt. Sakura snatched it with thin fingers and examined it curiously.

"_Missive/Honoo to Cloud 8:25 am, Crown Prince Hyuuga Neji of Haku to Prince Uchiha Sasuke of Honoo:_

_Uchiha;_

_Jiraiya sent doves to Dream. The queen is offended. Naruto is laughing. On your territory. He's starting a war, and it's not going anywhere near Kusa. The funds from your duchy at Takanari are now being reallocated to Naruto's conscription efforts. Just intercepted declaration missive from Naruto to Queen Yumi. He tried to time it to hit her in the face when she woke up. Enclosed._

_Enjoy your honeymoon._

_Missive/Missive/Honoo to Dream 8:20 am, Crown Prince Uzumaki Naruto of Kusa to Queen Yubisuke Yumi of Dream,_

_Hey Yumi-baa, you old hag! I think it's about time someone told you your hair looks like a rooster on crack but by now I guess no one can save that pile of decay. Your face is as bad as your fashion sense. I don't know how you haven't been assassinated yet. I don't know you haven't gotten blown up yet, you're so stupid. Birds will not ruin those leathery lumps you call a complexion. And they're from Kusa, not from your red sector where all your prostitutes and your serial killers are--don't even try to deny its existence. West Dream has to be the shittiest shit hold I have ever had the misfortune to smell, like, phew, beer and farts and B.O.! Anyways they don't have Ebola and they don't have avian flu. Do not refer to yourself in third person. Your fifty years too much epic fail to start that. They could build monuments to your self-centeredness and I'm sure millions would be willing to build your face out of piles of poop because that's what you smell like. Your stupidity frightens me. Hopefully you will die soon and Hikari-chan can take over because she can rule a country better than you if she were blind mute lame deaf and in a coma. And hey, I can help you with that._

_I announce a Declaration of War, officiated and set 12:22 pm, signed Crown Prince Uzumaki Naruto, Kusa._

_May my birds eat your innards and not get massive diarrhea._"

Sakura blinked.

"I shouldn't be surprised he writes like this. But I am."

Sasuke shrugged.

"Did you stop it?"

"Yes. Naruto is writing an apology letter as we speak and Queen Yumi has abdicated. The coronation ceremony for the matrilineal line of Dream is due to start in fifteen minutes when Princess Yubisuke Hikari is to ascend and take over."

Sakura's eyes widened, and darted to the large gold clock in the library beyond the glass wall.

"And you accomplished all this…before ten?"

Sasuke shrugged again, but this time he looked just a little smug. Sakura blinked in slightly frightened awe, before regaining her composure.

"Did you do all that--stuff, too?" she waved her arm at the elaborate glass bedroom door.

"No," Sasuke replied, "Shadow maids."

"I haven't seen any maids."

"They're called _shadow _maids for a reason," he retorted, as the glass door slid open and two covered trays floated into the patio. Plates were set by invisible hands onto the wicker table and Sasuke nodded at the invisible owners as they floated away.

"Shadow maids?"

"Yes." Sasuke uncovered one of his plates and raised an eyebrow at the elaborately over-made croque-monsieur. "Adept at basic ninjutsu. They serve the higher levels of society. You'll never see any of them."

With a contemplative nod, Sakura picked up her fork and dug happily into her multi-berry mousse cream crêpe. After a few contented delicious bites, Sakura paused, and straightened.

"Hey, Sasuke. Can I ask you something?"

"You were already."

Sakura ignored this. "I've been wondering, ever since…I guess since I got to Honoo. Why do you hate Itachi-san so much?"

She hadn't expected him to be so calm in the face of her inquiry. He didn't miss a beat, continuing his bite with utmost calmness. Almost contemplative, like he himself was not quite sure of the answer when presented with the question. Sakura had the distinct feeling he had never been questioned about this particular resentment before.

Finally Sasuke spoke.

"He is my brother. It is my duty to surpass him."

Sasuke didn't look like he meant to share more, so Sakura decided this was a good place to stop and consume the rest of her crêpe. Besides, he had actually answered her--that, for the time being, was more than good enough.

After breakfast he took her to the river, where they had a picnic and hired a boat for a small float down the stream to town center. The entire week was filled with activity--canoeing, shopping, operas, plays, horseback riding, cruises, circuses, elaborate dinners--and it made Sakura feel like he was courting her all over again.

At the end of the week she was a little put-down when he told her they would be moving from Cloud country to her home country of Mizu. She knew Mizu--she had lived there for most of her life. Sasuke seemed to recognize her reluctance and assured her that they were going to Mizu tourist country, not the capital where she had lived (princess or duchess, it was correct that she had lived around the center of Mizu). She finally decided that if Sasuke was bothering to take her there it couldn't be all that bad. Gauging from the continuous stream of elegant dates he had taken her on in Cloud, there was probably a lot of things worth doing in Mizu. Besides, Sakura hadn't ever ventured much out of the duchy at Mizuki. It was about time she got to know her country better.

By the time they were ready to leave she was almost excited.

.-.-.-.-.

Sasuke had begun staring down the receptionist and Sakura was getting a bit nervous. She almost admired the man. He's been holding up pretty decently for about five seconds…six…seven…eigh--"Sir, I'm sure we can find a more acceptable room. Excuse me for just a minute, Uchiha-sama, ma'am."

The hotel receptionist almost ran down the hallway. Sakura leaned out the doorframe, sighed and frowned.

"You didn't have to do that."

Shrug.

"This room is fine."

Shrug.

"Say something, will you?"

"No."

"AHA."

He shot her accusatory finger his Patented I'm-Uchiha-Sasuke-And-I-Can-Behead-You-With-One-Look glare. He seemed to forget the fact that Sakura lived with Tenten and had become sufficiently immune to patented royal glares.

"I did not realize when I married you that you would be so annoying."

"The bastard talks," Sakura threw her hands in the air at Sasuke's scowl, directing her comment to thin air. "And here I thought he was defected."

"Woman. Save your mouth for other things."

Sakura stared at him, eyes wide and face flushing a deep crimson. Sasuke almost smirked.

"You--you--_shut up, _or I'll castrate you with a fork!"

Sasuke snorted and turned his head with a hint of a grin.

"Where is that man?" he snapped.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Probably wetting himself in a back closet somewhere. Seriously, Sasuke. The poor bellboys."

The prince of Honoo glared at his recent wife, found it ineffective, and redirected his glare to the doorframe. Lesser wood would have burst into flames, but a luxury hotel like the one they were currently standing in, one that catered only to nobility, would obviously have construction materials worthy enough to withstand the many withering glances that such people would no doubt constantly direct at it. The deluxe suite the newlyweds currently stood in was about half the size of a football field, awash in silk and satin all dyed creamy champagne, the eyelet lace curtains floating lightly by the massive bay windows and washing the room in a gentle afternoon light. The door to the bedroom looked tempting, and despite her sworn hatred for her new husband, three nights of hot, screaming orgasms over and over called for some much wanted _real_ sleep.

"By the way," Sakura said quickly, averting her eyes, a blush creeping up to her cheeks, "I still hate you."

The black-haired prince turned and raised an eyebrow. Sakura was certain she had never seem most of his adorably _normal_ facial expressions before and was still keeping a counting tally of how many times her heart stopped beating every time he displayed a heretofore undiscovered contraction of his facial muscles.

"You shouldn't have told him," she rambled on, twiddling her fingers on the skirt of her crimson chiffon gown. The dress was high-necked and sleeveless, with a mass of ruffles coming from one shoulder down to the waist, where a thick wine-colored belt cinched in her waist before the fabric billowed down to the floor. Sasuke's eyes traveled down to where the hem of Sakura's skirt floated lightly in the breeze, before turning back to glare into the empty hallway.

"That's not my problem."

Sakura's head snapped up, and her eyes flashed. But before she could once again start the futile argument, a tall man in a neat, elaborate, expensive-looking black suit elegantly and gracefully melted into existence at their doorway. The man had dark blue eyes, and long, silky-looking black hair falling almost to his waist. He had a thin, pale, aristocratic face and a dignified bearing, with an air of delicate strength. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he wore a kind smile on his face.

"Your Highnesses," the man bowed, and Sakura watched in jealousy and wonder as his perfect raven hair slid like water over his shoulder. He straightened and nonchalantly flicked the locks back around his neck.

"I am Soen Azuma, I own this hotel--or rather, the land. I understand that our dear Yuichi has offered you an unacceptable room?" the black-haired man leaned inwards and examined the perfect suite, before tutting with a dramatic tilt of his chin. "Oh dear, oh dear. I completely understand. Please come with me."

Sakura chanced a nervous glance at Sasuke and noticed a slightly amused look on the prince's face. He seemed thoroughly undisturbed by this beautiful, flamboyant man, and, with a hand on his wife's waist, followed the owner.

"What of our luggage?" Sakura ventured cautiously.

"It has been dealt with personally," Azuma turned and shot them a charming smile, waving an arm to the slightly curving, chandelier-lit hallway. "Please, this way."

Azuma turned to a golden filigree lever and pulled it, and the massive elevator immediately shot up to receive them. The mirror doors bounced open with a cheerful _ding!_ as the contraption arrived, and Sasuke did not waste a moment in accosting the large white cushioned settee at the back. Sakura followed, shooting the glass wall beside the settee a rather apprehensive glance. Azuma stepped in courteously after the royals, and pressed a finger to a lighted gold button, smiling kindly at them. He stood by the panel and observed the gold-framed mirrored walls with unreasonable realistic interest.

When the elevator began climbing smoothly, Sakura was immediately enraptured with the scenery of the waterfalls of Mizu tourist country. From the steadily climbing glass elevator, one could see every single one, separated by forests and massive pieces of land on one side, and further to the east, the beginnings of a rich, luxurious town in which only upper-class citizens of the county resided.

"Uchiha-sama," Azuma said suddenly in a pleasant voice, "You are the prince of Honoo, aren't you?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and considered the man for a moment before nodding curtly.

"You must know my sister, then," the manager smiled kindly. Sakura was confused, but Sasuke's light squeeze of her hand signaled his wish for her silence. She complied rather reluctantly.

"I'm afraid I'm not acquainted with any of the Soen family at court."

Azuma looked surprised for a minute, before chuckling.

"I'm sorry. My sister and I do not share a last name. Are you familiar with Tachibana Kiama?"

Sakura could swear she just had a coronary.

"I am," Sasuke replied slowly, his voice betraying no hint of interest. The pink-haired princess, however, was piqued. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed the graceful curved neck, elegantly pointed chin that were familiar traits on both said brunette and her cousin Tenten. But nothing else possibly hinted a resemblance between the two.

"Is she doing well?" Azuma was smiling pleasantly at the ceiling. "I'm afraid we do not see each other often."

Sakura cut Sasuke off before the black-haired prince could snub the manager again. "She's very sweet," the pink-haired girl said quickly. "I'm sorry, I did not recognize you as a relative of Kiama-san."

"Curious," the tall man looked slightly unsettled for a split second before his face melted back into that smooth smile. "It had been said that we are very similar. Kiama and I are of different fathers; mine died when I was very young. Still, when we were small we were often told how very much we resembled each other. Our fathers were both dark-haired, and our mother is both dark-haired and blue eyed."

Sakura cocked her head, curls falling to one side. Before she could speak and dive further into Kiama's family history, however, Sasuke decided to rejoin the conversation, looking a little more interested in their banter than he had been seconds before.

"Then you are _Archduke_ Soen Azuma?"

Azuma nodded cheerfully as the elevator climbed to greater heights. "Yes."

"Sakura," Sasuke's attention was now fixated on his wife. "This is your great-uncle's grandson. I don't suppose you are acquainted."

"No," Sakura was surprised, but nonetheless smiled prettily for Azuma. "This is a pleasure. I'm not very familiar with my more distant cousins, I'm afraid…I was frail as a child and was not often let to roam."

Azuma looked thoroughly unfazed by her lame excuse, and Sakura was certain he would have known whether or not she was legitimate--heck, judging by the man's age he would probably have been maybe ten when she was 'born'. But Azuma smiled and nodded politely to his 'cousin' with an agreeable, "Yes, a pleasure."

Sasuke's eyes stayed on the Archduke for all of three seconds, before he appeared to lose interest and look away. The elevator dinged to a stop almost the exact same time, and Azuma stepped forward.

The elevator faced a solitary set of carved double doors down a short length of a hallway. Azuma led them towards the door and presented Sasuke with the key.

"This is our greater penthouse suite," the black-haired man said conversationally as Sasuke unlocked the door with a flick of his wrist, "Your luggage has been placed inside. There is a private elevator inside to reach the second floor; your living spaces."

Sasuke nodded silently and swung open a door, ushering Sakura inside. If the previous suite was amazing, then Sakura didn't really know what to think anymore--except that this room was probably the size of her old summer house. The pink-haired girl looked backwards to the door briefly before her eye caught a pool towards the left. With a completely enchanted gasp, she scooped a handful of red chiffon up in one appendage and began exploring the massive suite, catching only snippets of Sasuke and Azuma's conversation.

"Missive, om Pri…about now," Azuma's voice floated up to where Sakura was timidly ascending a set of stairs to a small day pavilion above the sitting area. She turned and looked down just in time to see a tiny white square of paper pop up in front of Sasuke's face. The prince's hand darted out immediately and snatched it from the air, and Sakura paused, before dismissing it and hopping up to the pavilion. A few more quiet whispers were heard, before Sasuke's clear, crisp dismissal was heard:

"Thank you, Soen-san. Please give my regards to your wife, Duchess Kanae."

Sakura dipped her head down over the glass railing and saw Azuma's slightly shocked expression. Within a split second his expression had regained its normalcy, and the black-haired Archduke swept a bow. The smile on his face as Sasuke turned and closed the door was decided cooler--and more nervous--than any she had seen that day.

.-.-.-.-.

"I am _pooped_," Sakura declared as she plopped down on the massive double-king sized bed in the middle of their even bigger suite bedroom. Sasuke entered the white doors behind his wife, an eyebrow raised, preoccupied with peeling a black blazer off his shoulders.

"Pooped?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Pooped," Sakura repeated, flipping over on her back and grinning. "Tired. Drained. Exhausted. Beat. Fatigued. Sleepy. I want to sleep."

Sasuke's other eyebrow raised as he ran an eye over the yellow Athenian drape dress currently pooling around Sakura's thin form.

"A swim in a waterfall really worn you down this much?"

Nod.

"You weren't even swimming in the current."

Shrug.

"It was a waterfall _pool._ There were coral reefs surrounding the top. There _was_ no current. You just _sat_ there."

Eyelashes batted.

"Weak."

Pout.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to the gold filigree mirror to pull off his cravat when another missive popped up in front of his face. Sakura sat up curiously as Sasuke snatched the floating paper from its floating position in front of his nose, and Sakura realized that it wasn't just the tiny square of paper, the missive was actually an intricately folded note compressed to the size of a coin. She rubbed a tired eye as Sasuke did some weird motions with his hands and the paper began slowly untucking itself, finally smoothing down into a creased but rather reasonably sized piece of paper. Sasuke put it back in the air and Sakura's curious surprise it stayed stationary, floating there, as Sasuke skimmed it and untied his necktie. Her curiosity steepened as Sasuke's face almost lighted up--well, as lit as _Uchiha Sasuke's_ face could get--and before she had chance to purloin the note it burst into flames, the ashes disappearing into thin air.

"What was that?" she questioned, rubbing her ankle as Sasuke whipped the black tie off from around his neck.

"We're going home a little early," he said sternly, before adding a, "If you don't mind."

"Why?" Sakura questioned, examining a spot on her leg that she had scratched at the waterfall.

"Neji sent a missive," Sasuke sighed, walking over and falling down backwards onto their bed. With an instinct developed over the recent week and a half, Sakura immediately reached out to his closed eyes and ran a finger over his eyelids, before brushing a few stray strands out of his face. Sasuke opened an eye and gently captured a few of Sakura's fingers, running the tips of his own over them, rubbing circles almost unconsciously as Sakura sat beside his head, watching his eyes.

"Why?" she finally repeated after a moment of silence.

He kissed her fingers. "There's someone I want you to meet."

.-.-.-.-.

Their return to Honoo was a pragmatic affair--short, too. The newlywed couple had been invited warmly back to the castle and given an entire wing of the main royal estate. Accompanied by Tenten and Neji, Sasuke took Sakura to see his land outside of the capitol city. They traveled by train to each massive piece of land Sasuke owned, all rolling, grassy hills and massive manor estates, before the whirlwind couple finally ended their travel and resumed life, much more subdued, at Court. Living with Sasuke instead of Tenten and Ino took a bit of adjusting--she missed her sisters more, and saw much less of them, both being infinitely busy with their own hectic schedules and love lives. But Sakura adjusted much faster than her husband had expected, and was praised for her impressive ability to adapt. Sakura had only raised an eyebrow at the weird comment, before shrugging it off as another one of Sasuke's abnormalities.

Sakura had noticed recently that Sasuke, big surprise, again did not look pleased. With each passing day the glower he had began pasting onto his face grew darker, and he often ended evenings with a deep furrow between his eyebrows. When she finally dared question, he frowned and glared at the window.

"He's late."

"Who?"

"He was supposed to be here _last week_," Sasuke seethed, completely ignoring Sakura's question. The princess rolled her eyes.

"Whoa, boy. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

Sasuke shot her an incredulous look before scowling and vanishing out the bedroom door. Sakura watched him leave, shrugged and began combing out her long pink hair, prodding no further. Besides, it was interesting seeing Sasuke get so frustrated over someone's lateness. She felt quite compelled to meet the man who could turn her cold-as-ice-hard-as-stone husband into an angry fretting child by being late to some clandestine meeting.

Finally, two weeks after they returned from the honeymoon, Sasuke arrived in their suites rather hurriedly, followed by several giggling maids, and vanished into his closet. Sakura had been having the royal equivalent of a slumber party for the much needed bonding time with Ino and Tenten the night before, and the nest they had made was still lying in a heap. Sakura snuggled comfortably into the warm masses and looked up from the combined mountain of blankets and pillows when he barged in.

"What's going on?"

"He's here," Sasuke's head popped out of the doorframe for a split second, a ruffled shirt and a set of tails visible. "Get dressed, hurry."

Sakura plopped her head back down into the big soft fort.

"Five more minutes?"

Sasuke stepped out of the dressing room, booting out the still giggling maids and frowning at the sisters as if he had just seen the massive mess of soft things they had made on his bedroom floor. After a few contemplative, analytical looks at Sakura's tall pile of blankets, Sasuke shook his head.

"I'm sending Ayame and Kikumo in _right now_," he said sternly. Sakura groaned, sitting up and rubbing the chicken's next of her hair. Sasuke smirked.

"I'll be back for you in half an hour. Be ready."

With that, her snooty new husband let in her bloodthirsty ladies' maids and left the three girls to their own devices. Sakura grunted as she pushed herself out of the bedspread fort, and reluctantly let herself once again be dressed by other people.

She found again minutes later that it was vastly more impressive and definitely more preferable than dressing herself. It was nice not having to tie your own corset. Or pick out the right gown for the right occasion. Sakura decided it was better to leave these things to people who were trained to do them and stood obediently stock still while her cheerful ladies-in-waiting darted around perfecting her appearance.

Sakura met the dark-haired prince outside exactly half an hour later, dressed in a lavender dress with a bubble skirt to her thighs, under which massive amounts of gold chiffon puffed the skirt out and fell to her knees, creating an artistic pouf. The dress was cinched at the waist with a golden obi belt tied in a thick, asymmetrical bow, while pink silk orchids pierced the center of the bow and were skillfully fixed onto the dress to the shoulder. Her hair had been straightened and fastened in a simple, sleek ponytail at the back of her head, embellished with fresh orchids. Her shoes were golden pumps, sitting at a slightly comfortable three and a half inches.

Sasuke had nodded slowly when he took in her appearance, obviously signifying his approval of her attire. Sakura had thought that an occasion he had fretted over so much would require more sophisticated dresses, but apparently this was good, seeing as how Sasuke himself was clad merely in black pants, a white ruffled shirt and a simple pinstriped vest. The tails were nowhere to be seen.

They promenaded to the third drawing room, almost identical to the one where Sakura, Ino and Tenten had found Kiama almost a month ago, with the exception that the room was embellished with massive bay windows and lacked shelves of books, instead having seating sets of curving couches and wooden tables positioned in circular arrangements all around the room. Sasuke strode with purpose towards a recliner facing one of the windows, where a shock of silver hair poked out from the back of the seat. And, once again giving Sakura the healthy equivalent of an aneurysm, Sasuke promptly once again made funky symbols with his hands and blew fireballs at the man.

The silver-haired visitor had been under the pretext of dozing with what looked like an inappropriate book covering his face, but leapt out of the seat and dodged Sasuke's offense immediately. He was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and white pants with a bottle green blazer, but upon further examination there appeared to be some sort of weirdly shaped mask covering the lower half of his visage.

"Hey, kid," the man gave him an eye-crinkle, which Sakura did not doubt would be a fond grin if his mouth were visible.

"You're late," Sasuke snapped, depositing Sakura gently on the adjacent couch. Instead of sitting down beside her, Sasuke plopped down rather unceremoniously on its armrest.

"Sorry," the man once again crinkled his eyes, this time rather mischievously. "I was delayed by a band of yakuza. They had kidnapped the princess of Rock, you see, and as a faithful ally of that superb country I do not doubt King Fugaku would have at all discouraged my attempts to rescue the fair lady--oh, is this Sakura-chan? She's a cute one."

Sasuke looked displeased, muttering something under his breath that sounded slightly like "hentai", but Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Yes. Yama--um, Uchiha Sakura, pleased to meet you. Forgive me, I'm still not quite used to it yet."

"I doubt many women of your status would want to get used to being this kid's wife," the silver-haired man leisurely ducked another fireball, "I'm Hatake Kakashi, I trained Sasuke, ever since he was a cute little boy this tall. Well, I'm not sure if the word _cute_ could ever be used to describe this one…" Sakura blinked. Fireball number ten, and counting.

"Were you at the wedding, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sorry, no." Kakashi looked thoroughly affectionate as he reached forward and ruffled a glowering Sasuke's hair. "I was attending other matters."

"Oh," Sakura paused, before smiling politely. "Then if you would excuse me? I'm sure there are many things you would like to discuss?"

Kakashi looked mildly surprised. "Yes, actually. That's why I came, Sasuke…thank you very much, Sakura-chan."

Sakura took this as her definite cue to leave. She stood and curtsied politely with her head bowed, before turning and promptly making a beeline towards the exit. As she retreated, Kakashi's voice floated in its mellow tones towards her ears.

"I heard Orochimaru was here, Sasuke…I told you…"

"Yes, I know," came Sasuke's irritated rely. "I don't know why you all keep thinking I'm going to…"

But Sakura never heard what exactly people thought Sasuke was going to do because she shut the door firmly and courteously behind her. Usually curiosity would get the better of her, but the sudden shift from amusement to seriousness in Kakashi's face she glimpsed before she departed was enough to tell her this wasn't something she should intrude upon.

Besides, it was about the perfect occasion for her to get some me-time.

.-.-.-.-.

"I think it's about time," Tenten told her sister flippantly over her shoulder as she brushed her long hair. It lay in pincurls, scrunched up tightly to her shoulders, and she was in the process of combing the curls looser. Ino looked up from her magazine, perched on the edge of her sister's bed, and shrugged.

"Yeah," the blonde exhaled, closing the magazine and carelessly throwing it over her swinging feet, "I guess."

Tenten turned from twirling the last curl around her finger and faced Ino.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," she frowned, picking a strand of hair off her sage green couture dress. With a twist of her lips Tenten stood, glancing at the clock.

"It's about four, knowing Sasuke-kun, he should be about brooding in his study right about now," Ino offered helpfully, chucking a gold necklace at Tenten. The brunette caught it around one finger and fastened it around her neck, glancing at the pleated hem of the skirt of her dress absentmindedly, running a finger over her bare knees. Her blonde sister beamed and swung her long legs over the bed, standing and smoothing her sky blue frock as Tenten walked past.

"Do you want me to go find Sakura now?" Ino questioned.

Tenten sighed. "Yeah," the brunette nodded decisively. "Keep her with you."

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I guess."

Tenten took a deep breath, and wondered why she was making such a big deal out of a simple revelation. Then again, it wasn't simple at all. This could mean a life, at the worst. She wasn't well acquainted with Sasuke and for all she knew he could be a loose cannon. She wanted her sisters _safe_ when she dropped the big one_._

"Call Kiba," Tenten said slowly, straightening and heading for the door, "Just in case Itachi was right. We have ANBU here. Station some right inside the door. You guys should be able to hold out. And I'll tell Neji to come over on the way, you will be safe."

"Tenten, it won't be that serious."

"You don't know that."

Ino's brow furrowed. "Ten, I'm coming with you," the younger sister said suddenly, a frown on her lips. "From what you're saying there is high risk here. I'm lot letting you go alone."

"No," the brunette princess countered immediately. "You have things you need to do. Besides, I'll be fine." Tenten's stiff features softened into a smile. "Besides, this is my problem. It's been my problem so long it's almost my _responsibility_ now."

"I guess…"

Ino looked extremely reluctantly. Before her sister could protest any more, Tenten flew out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

.-.-.-.-.

Sasuke answered the door on the second knock.

"Tenten-san?"

The boy actually looked confused. Tenten could swear she had never seen a shred of emotion on the black-haired prince's face before.

"Is Sakura here?"

"No, I think she's in the library."

"Good. I need to talk to you." She paused. "May I?"

"Of course." Sasuke stepped back and allowed his sister-in-law into the reception area of his castle residence, before closing the door behind her. She waited until he was done, before stepping forward and seating herself on a chintz chair in the adjacent living room.

"I apologize if I am intruding," Tenten offered, sweeping the skirt of her dress under her knees to prevent wrinking. Sasuke shrugged.

"It's nothing. But…"

_Was that...he was _nervous_! When had Uchiha Sasuke _ever_ been _nervous_? Was Sakura a _god_ or something?_

"Do I…am I supposed to call you nee-san now?"

If not for the gravity of her mission Tenten would have doubled over laughing hysteria. But she was conscious of the reason for her presence she was, of course, First Princess of Mizu, and was raised better than that. Instead, she maintained a straight face and replied noncommittally, "Not if you do not want to."

Sasuke looked extremely relieved, before he realized the shift in his expression and corrected himself with a sterner, visibly cooler visage.

"May I inquire of the reason for your presence, Tenten-san?"

_Okay._ Tenten took a deep breath. _Here goes._

"You asked me, a while ago, to discover the secret of your brother's weapon, the _Mangekyou Sharingan._"

Sasuke straightened visibly, all energy now obviously focused on the discussion on hand.

"Yes."

"I told you I did not know."

"Yes. Also true. Is this going somewhere?"

She paused.

"I lied. I do know what it is. In face, Itachi-san told me. Himself."

Sasuke stiffened, before his eyes became cold and calculating.

"Why are you telling me this?" he questioned cautiously. Tenten thought about that for a moment.

"I'm not quite sure," Tenten admitted slowly, "I…I am of the belief that it is more fortunate for the future if I provide this information than if I detain it."

"Then by all means continue."

Sasuke's onyx orbs were now fixed on Tenten, and the princess felt some of her resolve melt into dread and fear.

"Itachi-san told me, you have to kill someone to attain it."

The prince's flippant snort half disgusted and half frightened Tenten. He waved off the fact with an impatient, "Of course. I knew that."

Tenten stopped talking. That this boy who had just married her cousin blew off so lightly the concept that he would have to kill a fellow human being to enhance a genetic trait was abominable to her. Sasuke however, did not in any way relent.

"That's not all, is it?" his voice cut into her contemplations. "I know I don't just have to kill someone. I tried that already."

The brunette's blood ran cold and she tried not to shiver and the sharp flash of something up her spine. She was of half a mind to just stand up and run screaming out of the room, but that little voice of conviction popped up in to the back of her head--so familiar, so coaxing, murmuring reassurances to her. It was intoxicating, and Tenten felt a queer strength build up like a wall in her chest.

"So who is it?" Sasuke leaned back in his chair, his eyes probing her, obviously both keen and expectant. "Who do I kill for _Mangekyou_?"

_Tenten…Tenten, it won't hurt…it won't hurt at all…what could he do, what could he possibly do?_ Her mind felt hazy. All she needed to do--no. She had to say it. Or Sakura…

Tenten straightened and finally met Sasuke's eyes, with a cold determination that surprised the prince. To his knowledge this girl had never had such an expression in her eyes before--not this expression of cold alien indifference. Especially to a death. But before Sasuke could contemplate this any further, the brunette answered his probe with a frigid, detached voice.

"The one you love most. You must kill the one closest to your heart."

Sasuke's face contorted into rage, furor, hatred--fear. And before Tenten could manage another coherent thought, Sasuke hand moved, a slight flick, a jutsu she should have been able to counter but for the curious cloud in her mind. Her eyes went black and her mind went blank. The princess fell off her chair into a soft heap on the floor as the massive double doors into the wing swung closed with a final _click._ Then she was gone.

.-.-.-.-.

_Sorry for the big break, guys. This was supposed to be up last week but my beta died...so I added like five more pages to it. :D. Also, the semi-smut part is written by my buddy luvless191, because I cannot for the life of my bring myself to write it and I figure thered' be a riot if I didn't out one in...so yeah. 50 percent of section one belongs to her._

_So I want to know...do you want **longer chapters with a longer wait **or** shorter chapters for a shorter wait**? _

_Format of the title's off. I'll change if when Documents let me and stops killing all my docs._

_Much love and free hugs, please review!_


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